Made a tiring but enjoyable birdwatching trip to Kokkre Belur on Saturday. The village is known for its spot billed pelicans and painted storks, which take residence in and around this village. This is the nesting season, and as soon as you enter KB, you are treated to the shrill cries of these birds and wonderful sights of storks and pelicans flying high in the sky above you. And what a sight it was! A naturalist association from Mysore is working to conserve these birds in their natural habitat and helping villagers coexist with them – a task that is becoming progressively more difficult because of the increase in the village population. A gentleman called Manu, who was an ornithologist himself (and an engineer prior) has been working with the village people for nearly a decade now and he gave us a little background on the work he has been doing. I will post the pictures and a report of the trip later. But if you are a wildlife enthusiast (which I have slowly turned …