Saturday 2 December 2017

The Painted Storks arrive at the Basai Wetland




Finally, today I was able to spot a few Painted Storks at the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon. Strangely enough, the birds had arrived at the nearby  Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary way back in the month of October itself.






The Painted Storks, however, seem to be struggling for space with other species of birds, like the Purple Heron, which is another large bird. On my visit to the Wetland, I was able to spot a Brown Shrike too.


Besides, the resident White-throated Kingfisher entertained me with some of its aerial aerobatic skills, seen only in modern-day fighter jets!







I was mildly surprised to see more airborne Purple Swamphen than ever before. One of them was being chased by others of the same species, for it seemed as if they did not want him in their area. Strangely enough, Purple Swamphen might be territorial in nature, and they just don't allow outsiders into their fold!



Interestingly enough, I spotted a few fist-sized birds skimming the surface of the water, fishing for food, which I guess must be small fry and perhaps fresh-water shrimps.The birds are also known as swallows and they eat insects. Please note that the lower ones are reflections!



The spot-billed ducks stayed at a distance as it seems as if they had been disturbed by the frequent movement of people in the area. I saw a couple of men wading in the shallows with nets in their hands. It looked like they had been looking for small fish and fresh-water shrimps.















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