Humid weather, smelly fishing boats, rough water and less food...but, no absolute disappointment when it comes to birds. Welcome to Pulicat Bird Sanctuary..!
I've been planning to visit this infamous bird sanctuary for many years now but it was getting postponed every time. I decided to make a trip to Pulicat as the migratory bird count increases in the winter and extends till summer. I was eager to experience the best of birding there..!
Pulicat bird sanctuary is a vast area that is shared by two states, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This lake is one of the largest black water lagoon found in India after Chilika, in Odisha-- that is according to the books. But, it looked different to me. It was mostly black at the beginning of the journey where mostly flamingo and godwit colonies were found. Little far away from them, the colour of the water turned greenish where little Tern colonies were found. Finally, at the edge of the sea, the water turned almost blue in colour where terns, gulls and other species were found.
This beautiful bird sanctuary is made accessible to public from two different directions. One can enter the sanctuary that is nearer to Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh or the other way is to enter the sanctuary that is nearer to Chennai, Tamil Nadu. I chose to be on the side of Tamil Nadu since it has a big fishing community that also offers paid boat safaris into the sanctuary waters.
Session I:-- Boat Safari at 6:30AM IST.
Fishermen are the heroes here and their boats are in total demand all the time for obvious reasons. Hiring a boat is fairly easy as fishermen will be waiting for a chance to give a ride to the enthusiasts who'd have come from distant places.
Thus began my first session of birding on the rough waters off Pulicat.
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| A silhouette. |
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| Misty Morning. |
The motor boat cruised through the black water lagoon at high speed as my curiosity towards flamingos increased. I found that the flamingo settlement is situated fairly far from the shore where the journey actually started. As we inched towards the settlement my first glimpse was a Pink coloured Mirage..! An amazing number of both lesser and greater flamingos positioned strategically.
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| A Flamingo Colony. |
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| Lesser Flamingos feeding on Algae. |
From then on, it was just Pinkathon..! Huge number of flamingos chunked into small colonies like settlements that seemed like these birds probably are territorial by nature. Some were bold and would often come near the boats while others preferred to mind their business. Flamingos are tall, majestic and really pretty to look at..!
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| Lesser Flamingos generally stay close to each other to protect themselves. They are more pinkish than the adults. |
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| Typical small groups that consists of both lesser and greater flamingos. |
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| Such conversations tend to happen in a group. |
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| Sometimes it might go out of hands. |
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| Gets nasty and intense too. |
Beautiful pictures of the waterbirds
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