For those of you on campus who care about wildlife, this is a great opportunity to observe the large gatherings of butterflies – mainly 2-3 species Blue Tigers and Crows. Early morning is a good time and one of the places to observe is at the entrance of the Asthachal where 5-600 butterflies can be seen flying under the canopy or perched on the branches. This perhaps is a part of the migrating flock, a phenomenon that occurs at the onset of the southwest monsoon every year. This congregation may not last long and so if you really want to see them, do so over the next few days.
There is, surprisingly, some water in the Percolation Tank and apart from the Pond Herons, we came across a pair of Dabchicks and a Little Cormorant this morning during our birdwatching session. Baya weavers are nesting on the Acacia trees and there is a red-wattled lapwing on the shores. Redrumped Swallows were gathering mud pellets to line their nests.
But one distressing thing that I noticed was the profusion of Parthenium along the path on the bund. Also I was distressed to see remnants of a picnic – plastic-coated plates, glasses and other nonbiodegradable stuff left lying along the bund as one enters from the Veg. garden side. We had, some years ago, erected a barricade to prevent cyclists and those on motorbikes from using the path but that is now fallen apart and we need to put up a fresh barriacde.
Dr Santharam