Its a win for the environmental cause. It is also a slap in face for all those who promote mindless fancy projects in name of tourist promotions. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been forced cancel the water aerodrome project at the Chilika lagoon following objections from various quarter. However in a face saver it has offered to develop the project in Odisha if the state government provides it with an alternative site. Chilika, the second largest brackish water lake in the world, covers Khurda, Puri and Ganjam districts of Odisha. Situated at the mouth of the Daya River, Chilika is rich in biodiversity and a major tourist attraction in the state. A colony of flamingos at Chilika AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said: "Following a request from the state government...
Read MoreTag: Migratory birds
I am continuing with birds and my trip to Bharatpur's Keoladeo Ghana National Park, sometime back. This time more with just images Shikra can be easily seen at Keoladeo. It is most common small hawk but an aggressive hunter, can be found almost everywhere in the neighbourhood. Like Shikras, marsh harriers are also found worldwide. They are raptors of medium size in the harrier family. Watching them fly is fascinating when they make a V in low flight. Look for them at KNP. You know Keoladeo is also famous for its turtles! Read them about here- The giant turtles of Keoladeo National Park Darters are also called as snake birds owing o their long thin neck which has a snake like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged. There are large number of oriental...
Read MoreEver expanding cities have engulfed much of the natural habitat in their surrounding areas, including the wetlands, despite knowing it well that how disastrous it is. Thus it was a very pleasant surprise for me to find a haven for migratory birds just a couple of furlongs away from my home at the City of Lakes- Udaipur in Rajasthan. Actually, I had already seen this residential area surpassing a few wetlands in the course of its 'development' in last couple of decades. Similar things would have definitely happened in all the surrounding areas. Having shifted base to Delhi almost 28 years back, my visits to my hometown are occasional. Thus it was courtesy a childhood friend that I cam to know about Nela Taalab, even though it was very close to my home. Went with him to this place fo...
Read MoreCity of Lakes Udaipur is famous for many things but rarely for its birds. Ironically village Menar, 15 kms from Udaipur's Dabok airport is known for many things including its birds. Menar is also called as the bird village. More than couple of lakes in close surroundings of the village are known to host a huge number of migratory birds every year. Menar also has a long history which connects it closely to the Kings of Mewar. Rich in culture, this village also has an honour to produce some of India's finest chefs who have worked in kitchens of many celebrities- home and abroad. Residents of this village have been known as Menarias. But my recent trip to this village, roughly around 45 kms from my hometown Udaipur, was purely to catch some morning light. Capturing birds at sunrise (f...
Read MoreKeoladeo Ghana National Park at Bharatpur has been the earliest and most popular of bird sanctuaries in India so much so that until few decades back whenever plans to visit a bird sanctuary will come in mind, name Keoladeo used to prop up almost instantly. But this park, popular for its cranes and once a critical wintering ground for endangered Siberian cranes, is also known for its giant soft shelled turtles. Park has seven species of turtles. The number of turtles is very good, in few hundreds. There are many myths and folklores associated with these turtles, but indeed there lifespan is very good. In that sense many turtles here are said to be living here for more than couple of hundred years. Now the catch is that this park doesn't have perennial source of water. It depends lot on m...
Read MoreThough flamingos were my primary interest and they were who actually pulled my all the way to Sambhar, but wintering at Sambhar is not all about flamingos. Flamingos might be very high in count and attraction but there are many other birds coming for winter migration. As I said in my last post, there are more than 70 species of birds coming here every year. So while I was busy admiring flamingos at Sambhar lake, I couldn't have failed to notice and try to click few other migratory birds. Pied avocet (pictured above) was the among the first one to come across and was quite attractive because of its distinctive beak and black & white appearance. Though there were some northern pintail and pochards as well, but I could manage to get close view of only these northern shoveler
Read MoreMoving ahead from Devayani, I was asking every other guy the way to Chatri (cenotaph) of Daadu Dayal. The way wasn't far from Devayani. Just half a kilometre ahead was a railway crossing and the just before the railway line was a dusty path going inside the salt fields along side the now unused railway track. There were many structures in the area, all of them actually remnants of a very well-planned rail network meant for the salt extraction. It looked like a no-man's land. I kept on moving ahead till there was a way. Till that time I didn't even had an idea that how the chatri of Daadu Dayal looked like. Track wasn't easy, but still negotiable and enjoyable. Then, I suddenly saw a man out of nowhere and asked him about the exact location of the cenotaph, and luckily also about the possib
Read MoreI am not a birder specifically, but being interested in wildlife I love bird watching as much as I love sighting tigers. Both give you equal chance to play with your camera. All the tiger reserves and national parks per say (other than specific bird sanctuaries) too have rivers, lakes, ponds and other water holes which are shelter for waterfowls and migratory birds. Jungle themselves are best places to see the birds. Having been to few bird sanctuaries, this was first time I specifically kept time to see birds in a tiger reserve and I was certainly not disappointed. Hence, comes this fourth post from Sariska visit. Sariska is a big national park and has many perennial sources of water which in turn become good harbouring ground form birds. Hence, when you are close to a water body, ...
Read MoreChilika is one of the milestone places in India. It is the largest brackish water lagoon. Now what is brackish water? It is the water which is saline or salty but not as salty as the sea water. It happens when the fresh water mixes with sea water. There are 52 rivers and rivulets that fall in the lake. Secondly, Chilika is also a lagoon, and it is not just largest coastal lagoon in India, it is also second largest lagoon in the world. As if it was not enough, it is the largest wintering ground for migratory water-birds anywhere in the Indian sub-continent. Chilika is spread in three districts of Odisha- Puri, Ganjam and Khurda. Puri side is mainly popular for Dolphin tours from Satpada. Satpada is around 50 kilometres from Puri. It is on northeast of Chilika lake. Tourists can book ...
Read MoreHonestly, I had high hopes when I went to Kadalundi. It was one of the places which I had planned to visit during a very small leisure window on my visit to Kozhikode (erstwhile Calicut). It was late November and I could not have missed watching and photographing a few migratory birds. But, it was a disappointing outing. Spread over a cluster of islands, this sanctuary is said to be the abode for more than a hundred species of native birds and 60 species of migratory birds. The area where Kadalundi river flows into the Arabian sea is surrounded by hillocks. These hillocks besides creating a scenic environment also give a splendid view of the sanctuary, river mouth and the sea. Even the main railway line to Trivandrum passes through the sanctuary. Kadalundi also has a mangro...
Read More