Bird Walk at Madhure Lake and Grassland, Bangalore

Name: Bird Walk at Madhure Lake and Grassland, Bangalore
Start: 2026-10-03T06:30:00+05:30
End: 2026-10-03T08:30:00+05:30

About Madhure Lake and Grassland

About an hour north of Bengaluru, near Doddaballapur, Madhure Kere is a broad, shallow lake set in open Deccan countryside, surrounded by grassland, thorny scrub and farmland. The lake’s level rises and falls with the monsoon, and that cycle is what makes it special. As the water retreats, it leaves wide, muddy shores and shallow pools that become ideal feeding grounds. The surrounding grassland is one of the open patches that are fast disappearing around the city. Habitats like this are often dismissed as “wasteland”, but they support a rich community of insects, reptiles, small mammals and ground-nesting birds.

For birders, Madhure is one of the best places near Bengaluru to watch waders. From late monsoon through winter, plovers, sandpipers and greenshanks stop off on their long migrations from Central Asia and the Himalayas, joined by large flocks of stilts and ducks. The surrounding grassland and scrub hold doves, coucals, peafowl and other dry-country birds, and raptors often hunt over the open ground in winter. Nearby Hesaraghatta was declared a conservation reserve in 2025, but Madhure is still largely unprotected. Its threats include conversion of grassland to farms and plantations, tree planting on natural grassland, real estate expansion, dumping, and disturbance of the lakeshore. Protecting both the lake and its open grasslands as one landscape is the key to keeping Madhure’s birds coming back.

Bird walk Location

Common birds of Madhure Lake and Grassland

When Madhure Kere’s water drops and leaves wide, muddy shores, it becomes a stopover for waders on long journeys. The Tibetan Sand-Plover, which breeds on the high plateaus of Central Asia, runs across the flats alongside the pale Kentish Plover and the golden-eyed Little Ringed Plover. Marsh, Green, Wood and Common Sandpipers pick along the water’s edge, each with its own style of feeding. The Common Greenshank strides through the shallows, calling a ringing “tew-tew-tew” when disturbed. Flocks of Black-winged Stilts wade on long pink legs, and Red-wattled Lapwings sound the alarm when anyone comes near. Big rafts of Indian Spot-billed Ducks float on the open water. Gray-headed Swamphens and White-breasted Waterhens move along the weedy margins. The surrounding dry country has its own residents: Red Collared, Spotted, Laughing and Eurasian Collared Doves, the booming Greater Coucal, the loud Asian Koel, and Indian Peafowl displaying in the open. Little Swifts sweep low overhead, finishing off the picture of a lake that is small but full of life.