Episodes of Lake Marathon: 05 Bogadi Lake

Lake days are my best days!

Hi viewers, welcome to another episode of Lake marathon. This is my 5th lake and I had heard a lot about this lake. This lake is situated next to Matchbox

Bogadhi Lake: Since long time, I was waiting to visit this lake, it is one of the popular lakes of Mysore. Earlier this lake was the source of irrigation for the nearby village, but now it has been fragmented to a small patch. It was a bit tricky for me to locate the place via google maps, but I figured out the way by taking directions assistance from localities. I stayed here for more than 2 hours in this lake and just kept admiring it. I waited till I get the glimpses of the sunset, the reflection of Sunset in the water was eye catching and within 10 mins, I managed to visit Bogadi Kere and captured the most beautiful Sunset pic I could ever get. 

Also read: Bogadi Kere

 

Sunset in Bogadhi Lake

We hardly see this greenery in our city these days. It made me feel like I have gone back to my childhood days after seeing this! I was feeling as if I am in a village, cattle were left to graze, a shepherd watching over his herd, opposite to this lake is a residential area which is moderately populated. In the entire lake view there were no human at all, I got enough time to spend alone with birds though. 

 

 

Glimpses of the lake water body

Caught a sight of so many aquatic birds, ducks, dabchicks, stilts, herons, lapwings, coots and many more. The lake was glorified with these beauties! I could see some of them were in the breeding season. 

 

Avifauna of Bogadi Lake: Altogether, I spotted 11 birds species in Bogadi lake on 19 November 2022. Some of the highlighting moments are registered in my Lake Marathon diaries. 

Black winged stilt: This is the first time I am spotting black winged stilt. The legs are long and pink, found wadding in most of the parts the lake. This pic of a stilt seeing its reflection in the water is a cute one. 

  

Grey Heron: Grey herons are the most common birds found in wetlands. I have seen these birds in almost all the lakes which I have visited so far. One special characteristic of this bird is, it extends its neck while hunting and retract its neck while doing nothing. I have captured these birds both while hunting on the field and while perching idle on the tree branch.  

 

Grey heron with its neck extended in search of prey

  

Grey heron with its neck retracted while perching 

I experimented by capturing monochrome snaps of the grey herons and it looks simply amazing. 

 

 

Grey herons in a monochrome version

Black Drongo: I found several black drongos perching on the tree, cable wires and fences. It clearly states that its drongos time to reign during the winter season. I have usually seen the drongos tailed to be forked but the first picture proves me wrong by suggesting it can be ornamented as well. 

 

Drongos found in Bogadi lake at different times and locations. 

Woodpecker: Slightly confused between the species common flameback and greater flameback. I didn't hear its call but accidently found while searching for other birds. I have seen woodpeckers near the Bogadi areas couple of times. 

Woodpecker

Pond Heron: Another common bird of wetland is pond heron. There is no such lake I have visited without spotting pond herons. It appears different during its flight and at rest. Looks more colourful during breeding season. 

 

 

Black headed ibis: A single black headed ibis was found perching on a leaf of a coconut tree. These birds adjust to varied habitats and situations. 

 

        Black headed ibis (left)              Black ibis during its flight (right)

Spot billed duck: A group of spot billed ducks were found swimming in the lake and some of them near the group of stilt. I have captured a closer pic of spot billed duck in my previous article, Bogadhi Kere. 

Common Coot: I have seen common coots in all the wetlands I have visited. They adjust to the various habitat and even in the eutrophic lakes. One such example is Bogadhi Kere, where the lake is completely full with epipelagic plants and yet these coots have survived. These are omnivorous birds and can feeds on algae, insects, crustaceans etc. They are very quick in its movement and less often I get to take a still image of it. 

  

Common coot. 

Red wattled lapwing: This is a ground bird found in all the open water bodies. They usually won't perch on any trees. Often found in 2 or 3 number. Also read my poetry on red wattled lapwing breeding behavior. 

Common Myna: These birds were seen in a small group perched on the branches. Could capture only the monochromatic snap only. 

 

Black Kite: This birds of prey complete the ecosystem. Being one of the top predators in the lake ecosystem. Found one single kite on the top searching for its prey. 

Flora of Bogadi Lake: Not much I concentrated on the flora this time, but these two snaps found interesting. Next time I will try to explore more on the floral diversity. 

 

So, these were some of the highlights from the Episodes of Lake Marathon 05. I will be visiting this lake more often in future and try to explore more of its diversity and uniqueness. Will see you soon with yet another interesting article, till then keep reading What's around us to explore! 

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