Sunday, January 19, 2020

Annual trip to Mannar .....

I made my annual trip to Mannar  (which I started last year) again in January 2020 to catch a glimpse of the Migratory birds. I took the night train at 9pm on a Thursday night and ended up at Thoddaveli station at 5,15 am the following day . The Four Tees guest house is right across the station and after a brief wash etc I got in to the arranged three wheeler and went  around Mannar covering the saltants, Vankalai , Causeway etc. This time too the most sort after Greater Flamingos may be around 600 in numbers were seen as a speck couple of km/s into the lagoon and I managed to get a  boat to take me closer . The up close confrontation was a real spectacle to watch as they were doing their thing at their pace.
I also photographed a few other migrants that are here from around November to March each year.


 Russell's viper
Black Kite
Whiskered Tern


Common Sandpiper
Caspion Golden Plover
Green Sandpiper
Common Ringed Plover
Little Grebe and the young
Black tailed Godwit

Female Garganey
Male .In flight

Eurasian Spoon Bills
Northern Pintail


Common Redshank


The most sort after: Greater Flamingos


















Barn Swallow
Painted Stork
Glosy Ibis



Common Moorehen


Whimbrel
Grey Plover
Rudy Turnstone
Western Reef Heron
Lesser Sand Plover






 dark backed Heuglin's Gull

 Juvenile dark backed Heuglin's Gull

Curlew Sandpiper


Northern Shoveller