These Birdwalks Are Turning Ordinary Sundays Into Nature Lessons In Bengaluru

Last Updated:January 15, 2026, 16:56 IST

In a city ruled by deadlines and notifications, these bird walks offer something rare — unstructured time. Phones stay in pockets. Conversations slow down.

When people learn to recognise birds, they also start noticing shrinking wetlands, disappearing trees and rising noise levels. Image: blrbirders.com

At 6.45 am on a quiet Bengaluru Sunday, while most alarms are still snoozing, a small group gathers near Lalbagh west gate. There are no yoga mats, no running shoes. Just binoculars, notebooks and a lot of excited whispering.

Someone points toward the lake inside Lalbagh and says, “Did you see that flash of blue?" Another replies, “That’s a kingfisher, don’t scare it." And just like that, the city slows down — not for traffic, but for birds.

For 32-year-old software professional Ananya Rao, these mornings have become sacred. “I used to wake up late on Sundays and scroll my phone for hours. Now I wake up early just to see what the birds are doing. It feels like a better way to start the week," she says, adjusting her binocular strap before the walk begins.

How birding became a weekend ritual

Over the years, Bengaluru has quietly built one of India’s most active urban birdwatching cultures. At the heart of it is BLR Birders (https://blrbirders.com/) , a collective of nature lovers who organise regular bird walks across the city. Every Sunday, enthusiasts gather at different green pockets — lakes, wooded trails and wetlands to observe, learn and simply enjoy the birds that share the city with them.

Most participants are not experts. Many come with nothing more than curiosity. But there are experts too sometimes in the walk who happily share their knowledge on birds and everything related to them. Most importantly, these walks are free and open to all.

“People think birdwatching is for scientists or photographers with fancy lenses," says Suresh Naik, a long-time volunteer who helps coordinate walks. “But the truth is, all you need is patience and a little wonder. The birds do the rest."

What happens on a bird walk

A typical walk begins just after sunrise. The group meets at a designated spot shared in advance through the BLR Birders network. From there, they move slowly, stopping often to identify birds by sight and sound.

On one recent Sunday, the excitement peaked when a purple sunbird hovered near a flowering shrub. Eight-year-old Aarav, attending his first walk with his parents, whispered, “It looks like a flying jewel." His mother later laughed and said, “I brought him here to get him off the screen. I didn’t expect him to fall in love with birds in one morning."

Experienced birders explain how to spot differences between similar species, why some birds migrate and how urban growth is changing their habitats. Every walk becomes a moving classroom, minus the pressure of exams.

Where these Sunday walks happen

Birding meets take place across Bengaluru, depending on the season. Popular locations include lakes like Hebbal, Madiwala and Puttenahalli, wooded stretches near The Valley School, and quieter green zones around East Bengaluru and the outskirts.

Each place tells a different story. Wetlands attract water birds and waders. Tree-lined paths host songbirds and sunbirds. During migration season, even seasoned birders get surprised. “Every year, there’s that one Sunday when someone shouts, ‘That’s not supposed to be here,’" says Prakash Naik with a smile. “Those are our favourite days."

Why more Bengalureans are joining

In a city ruled by deadlines and notifications, these bird walks offer something rare — unstructured time. Phones stay in pockets. Conversations slow down. Attention shifts from screens to treetops.

For 61-year-old retired banker Ramesh Iyer, the walks became a new routine after he lost his wife two years ago. “The house felt too quiet on weekends," he says. “Now I come here, talk to people, watch birds. It doesn’t erase loneliness, but it makes it lighter."

Office-goers, schoolchildren, photographers, grandparents — the crowd changes every week, but the mood stays the same. Calm, curious, quietly joyful.

Not just a hobby, but quiet conservation

Beyond leisure, these walks plant the seeds of awareness. When people learn to recognise birds, they also start noticing shrinking wetlands, disappearing trees and rising noise levels.

“You protect only what you care about," says Naik. “Once someone knows that a particular bird nests in that tree near their home, they think twice before letting it be cut."

For BLR Birders and similar groups, that awareness is the real win. The walks may be small, but the ripple effect is large.

Back to that Sunday morning

By the time Bengaluru is fully awake, the birders are already heading home. They leave behind footprints on muddy paths and carry back stories of what they saw — sometimes a rare visitor, sometimes just a familiar sparrow that looked different in the early light.

Ananya packs her binoculars and says it best. “The city doesn’t change on these walks. But I do. I go back noticing things I never noticed before."

And maybe that is the quiet magic of Bengaluru’s Sunday birders. They are not chasing big adventures. They are simply learning to look closely — at the sky, at the trees, and at a city that still sings, if you wake up early enough to listen.

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