Our first Id holiday

We spent the holiday for Id really well. We did some birdwatching in Cubbon Park and saw:

Magpie Robin and its family. Pic courtesy: birdforum.com

Ashy Wren Warbler

Green Barbet. Also observed in Dayanand Sagar University. Image courtesy Wiki.

.

Yellow Wagtail.

Indian mynah

Female rose ringed parakeet

Lesser cormorant. Image courtesy Joy Sinha, tripadviser.com

Pond Heron. I initially thought it was a white bird that had got dirty in the pond

Later that evening, we went to Sankey Tank near Malleshwaram. I had been here a long time ago, to meet an uncle who worked at a Statistics center somewhere nearby. But I had never spent too much time there before. Now, after hanging out there for a few hours, I think Sankey Tank has to be one of the best places in Bangalore both for individuals and for families, very like Schenley Park back in Pittsburgh. The only major drawbacks to Sankey Tank are the low height railings over which even a two and half year old can lean far out (as we learned yesterday) and potentially fall into the water. So it's a bit hazardous and parents can't just leave their kids to run around.
But otherwise, it's rather marvelous.
We went there around sunset, when flying foxes emerged from their nests in the nearby trees to hunt:

A beautiful waterfall evoked images of Ganga falling from Shiva's head, while simultaneously reminding us of a similar fountain at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh

Durga, who had watched the sunset, the fountain and the flying foxes, fairly impassively, came to life when she saw bandicoots coming out of their holes with the darkening sky. "'Ello! 'Ello, lat! Come to me!" she cried in her lisp.


A Ganapathy visarjan was in progress, accompanied by loud drums, clanging bells and yells of "Ganapathy bappa moriya!" We also learned a new little Ganapathy jingle: Twinkle twinkle little star, Ganapathy bappa superstar!
The kids loved it!

All in all, a great holiday!