These days, I am saying more howdy-dos to birdwatching-habitués of the Perumbakkam wetland.
These birdwatchers have upped their visits to the wetland, now marked by noticeably receding water levels. The birds that were earlier drawn to feeding spaces not too far from the fringes, especially the waders, have begun to focus their attention exclusively on the deeper central section of the wetland. And these birdwatchers want to make the most of the little time they have to watch these birds at relatively close range without having to peer through a pair of field glasses.
The silver lining is that a noticeable number of greater flamingos are flocking at the wetland, as low water levels suit their style. In the morning-hours of the day this article went to print, I counted 20 (no, I did not round off that figure) on the southern section of the wetland.
Visitors are predictably enthralled by the characteristic stamping of the feet, slow swirling motion while foraging; and crossed beaks now and then: Flamingo fights can appear less of a fight and more of a lipsmack. Beaksmack, in this case.
I am going to gallop through this piece, keeping it to a bare skeletal form so that I can fit bigger images of these flamingos into the space.
At this wetland, I have also enjoyed watching flocks of the winter-visiting black-tailed godwit, admiring their beautifully elongated beaks, pink at the base and black at the tip, like a quilt-pen dipped in ink and ready for the paper. Later, away from our land, in their breeding habitats, the basal section of the beak will change colour, taking on an orangish or yellowish hue.
Now, I mostly need my binoculars to view the black-tailed godwits clearly, as they have retreated inwards along with the other foraging waders.
Take a look at these birds in http://bit.ly/FlamingoPerumbakkam
Field notes is a weekly column about the resident and winter-visiting birds of Chennai