I got a chance to follow this rare sequence of events of nesting in November near the walkway in Madiwela , near Embuldeniya . In fact a fellow photographer on a casual visit in the first week of November had seen a pair on a paddy field plot and after the news spread , I too frequented the place a few times during the stages of the male incubating the eggs ( This is one of the few species where the male does all the heavy and hard work from incubating to looking after the chicks after hatching )
After about 2 weeks from the first phase, we were told that as the few plots close to this were already prepared for the new planting, this will also be cleared but mainly due to the perseverance and impact made by the same photographer to the farmers and neighbors highlighting the importance of this aspect of nature, on a Sunday afternoon , the farmers with the close supervision of this friend had marked a small area where the nesting was going on and to avoid flooding from releasing water into the area ,had lifted the nest from the bottom without touching or harming the eggs and though the male and the female who was nearby had got excited and scattered around making a commotion not knowing that all was done for the betterment , may be after realizing the good work ,the male had returned to the nest in the evening.
On Monday afternoon , we got to know that all 4eggs had hatched and the chicks were seen moving around with the male and due to office work I could not make a visit and made up mind to try my luck the following day morning before going to work and for my luck , around 7, with one continuous walk the male led all 4 chicks beyond 4 plots to safety where planting had been done already and disappeared giving the chance to the chicks to survive and continue the nature's cycle to our sheer delight.
Male coming out of the nest...
