Muttukadu backwaters – A birding place on the East Coast Road

Muttukadu backwaters is one of the good places around Chennai for bird watching and weekend trips. Muttukadu is located on the ECR near Kovalam also called as Covelong. These are the backwaters of Bay of Bengal. The backwaters extend up to the ECR road. It also stretches parallel to the shore on either side of the ECR up to the Kelambakkam – Kovalam road. This place is full of birds like Spot Billed Pelicans, Storks and Egrets. Also a large population of gulls can be seen near the tidal inlet (where the backwater is connected to the sea).

This place has a history of serving as a port during the colonial period; the Dutch had built a fort here, later it was taken over by the Arcot Nawab, French and the British during their respective periods. Now a private 5 star resort called Fishermen’s Cove sits on this place. This resort is under the hotel chain Vivanta run by the Taj group.

The inlet connecting the backwaters to the Bay of Bengal is just adjacent to the resort. This place is ideal for bird photography and also early morning seascape pictures. The beach is relatively cleaner but stinks a bit due to the dumping of fish waste and fish drying by the local fishermen. 

     

Egrets enjoying their meal

Painted Stork

Common birds found here includes Painted stork, Spot Billed Pelicans, Egrets, Black Headed Gulls, Black Winged Stilt, Common Green Shank and House Crows. Early mornings are good for bird watching here as large flocks of Painted Storks and Egrets will be feeding in the shallow waters and can be easily photographed. As the sun raises these birds move towards the interiors or take shelter near the bushes.  However after the Storks and Egrets move out the place is occupied by flocks of Gulls and also smaller waders like the Black Winged Stilt and Common Green Shanks.

Black Winged Stilt

Common Greenshank and Black Winged Stilt

An Interesting observation

Gulls are believed to be intelligent, resourceful birds and exhibit a certain level of complex communication within their group. An example (see Pic below) of this can be seen in the Muttukadu backwaters. The local fishermen just leave the dried fish waste on the beach. The House crows on the beach will be feeding on the fish, as soon as the crows are airborne with the dried fish in their beaks, a group of adult and juvenile Black Headed Gulls which are sitting in the shallow waters will launch a co-ordinated attack on the Crow. The Gulls over power the Crow, take away the fish from it and land on deeper waters. This cycle was getting repeated again and again. Even though there is lot of fish waste on the beach the Gulls never used to come onto the beach. 

A group of  adult and juvenile Black Headed Gulls mobbing a House Crow

Black Headed Gulls in Winter Plumage

Have a nice birding time…………… Next post will be on the other side of Muttukadu backwaters, Off Kelambakkam –Kovalam road…………

Maduratakam Lake – A place for weekend bird watching and macro photography

This is fourth in my series of posts with a view of covering the offbeat birding places around Chennai. While Madurantakam Lake may not be an ideal birding place, it will be an interesting weekend trip and even provide some good photography opportunities.

Madurantakam Lake is situated on the GST road (NH 45) near Madurantakam town. As the lake is located very near to the famed Vedanthangal bird sanctuary, it is home to a large avian population. It is a man-made water body, believed to be built during the Chola reign by King Uthama Chola who was also called as Madurantakar. It is also the second largest lake in Tamilnadu and irrigates some 1000 odd villages in and around Madurantakam.

Domino Cockroach

Egret

This place is also famous for the Aeri Katha Ramar temple and has a legend attached to it, about an English Collector named Colonel Lionel Place becoming a staunch devotee of Lord Rama and building a shrine for Lord Rama’s consort Sita Devi.

Blue Pansy

Crimson Rose

Legends and stories apart, the place is home for a large population of Egrets, Cormorants, Herons and Anhingas (snake bird or darter). When, I planned my visit to Madurantakam, it was middle of September  2012 and most of the water bodies including Siruthavur Lake were completely dry. Even this lake was almost dry and birding was not on my priorities. It was a Sunday and I had decided just to go on a long drive. The destination was finalized as Madurantakam as my friend was from this place and it was decided that we will be driving to his parent’s place which is a small village near Madurantakam town on my bike. We started at around 4.30 am from Pallikaranai, made a pit stop in between on the highway and had tea in a small night eatery along with truck drivers and reached the lake at around 6.30 am.

Pea Blue

Wild flower

The lake is surrounded by an embankment with gates on the eastern side. There is also a road on the embankment which can accommodate light vehicular movement. Either side of the road is full of shrubs and wild flowering plants. As the lake was dry most of the waders were in the middle of the lake and also it was a cloudy day, so I just turned my attention from bird watching towards Macro Photography with a normal lens. I do not have an exclusive Macro setup so you can call it as close up photography.

Smaller Orange Tip

Restricted Demon (Skipper)

Found some interesting wild flowers, for which I do not know the names. A Restricted Demon butterfly was sitting patiently on a leaf. Found a Smaller Orange Tip butterfly (Please correct me if I am wrong with the names). Also found a few Jungle Babblers.

Jungle Babbler

Common Carp

And finally, if you are a non-vegetarian and can haggle with the local fishermen, you can get some freshly caught Carps straight from the water for a good price (On a Sunday at any point of the day some fishermen will be there in the lake trying to catch fish).

Meanwhile due to rains in the last few days Pallikaranai marsh is getting some inflow, encouraging the Flamingos which are there from some time to move to the edge. I have managed to get some better photographs than last time. Click on the link to view the post “Flamingos in Pallikaranai”.

Flamingos in Pallikaranai

Due to the frequent rains in the past few days in Chennai, Pallikaranai marshland has started getting some inflow of water. The slight increase increase in the water level might have encouraged the Flamingo population which is there in the marshland from some time to move till the edge of the marsh. Last weekend the birds were found to be comparatively closer to the Thoraipakkam road than before. I managed to get some better photos than my last attempt.

Cloudy morning

Taking a walk

Sometimes loneliness feels good

Flock or Flamboyance

Head Held high

Time to Rest

The presence of the flamingos has in a way helped the marshland. Due to the continuous attention it is drawing through the visit of birdwatchers and photography enthusiasts, the pathway inside the fencing surrounding the marshland is somewhat cleaner than it used to be.  Also due to the coverage it is getting from the local and national newspapers, even the local residents and morning walkers are stopping to take look at the birds, who otherwise would not have bothered to stop because of the stench. This has in turn made the forest department to put up a number of signboards on either side of the Pallavaram – Thuraipakkam road about the conservation of the marshland. The forest department outpost which used to be mostly empty is now occupied by two guards; a visitor’s register is also being maintained to record the number of visitors to the marshland.

So this is what they call a “Win – Win situation” (for both the birds and the marshland). 

Birding at Siruthavur Lake

Whiskered Tern

Siruthavur Lake is a relatively unknown place for people who are new to bird photography and to Chennai, however this place gets its share of visits by regular Bird watchers and photography enthusiasts. For me it’s a place where I can practice my hobby without warranting any attention from the locals or other people.

Landscape near Siruthavur Lake

Siruthavur Lake is a fresh water lake located off the Tiruporur – Thirukazhikundram road which is roughly 50 kms from Chennai. This water body is primarily used for irrigation of the nearby lands and for fishing.  This lake is surrounded by thorny bushes and shrubs. One side of the lake is having an embankment with gates constructed for the purpose of storing the rain water and using it for irrigational purpose. The boundaries of the lake and the embankment have a lot of vegetation and are home to many birds, insects and other creatures. 

Pied Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher

There are many resident birds in the surroundings of the lake like the Common Kingfisher, White Breasted Kingfisher and Pied Kingfisher. The Eurasian Widgeons flock the lake in the winter months. Also during the winter months the lake is full of waders like Painted Stork, Open Bill Stork, Eurasian Spoonbill, Black Headed Ibis and Pelicans etc. 

Tern

Hovering Tern

This place also provides lot of opportunity for macro photography as the vegetation supports different types of Butterflies, Dragonflies, Bees, Golden Tortoise Beetle and other small forms of life.  The land on the either side of the Tiruporur – Thirukazhikundram road is also rich in birds and insects and is marked as reserve forest. The vegetation here is mainly thorny bushes, shrubs and small trees. These bushes serve as a nesting place for several land dwelling birds like Pied Bush Chat, Ashy Crowned Sparrow – Lark and Paddy field Pipit. One can even find these birds on the roads when there are no vehicles.

Lime Swallowtail or Small Citrus Swallowtail 

Golden Tortoise Beetle

The place is yet to be affected by urbanisation, but the place is vulnerable for poaching due to its isolated location. A few incidents of poaching were reported in the newspapers and blogs. In one of the incidents, the forest guards were even able to arrest the poachers based on the information provided by an alert bird watcher.

Tiruporur - Thirukazhikundram Road

To reach Siruthavur Lake, one has to take the OMR road to reach Thiruporur, continue on the OMR after passing the Thiruporur bus stand and take a right turn towards Chengalpattu road. When you have driven roughly a kilometre, there will be a left deviation which is the Tiruporur – Thirukazhikundram road. Another one and a half kilometre, the lake will be on the right side. It is not visible from the road, but can ask for directions.

Female - Common Picture Wing Dragonfly 

Unexpected Visitors in Pallikaranai

A lot of buzzzz is going on over the sightings of Flamingos in Pallikaranai. Yes, a colony of  Flamingos have arrived some time ago in Pallikaranai marshlands and experts say that around 300 plus birds might be there. Bird watchers and photography enthusiasts are making weekly trips to the marshland, which they rarely visit during this time of the year.

 

Flamingos flock in Pallikaranai marsh

In my last post, I had mentioned that I will be writing about Siruthavur Lake, but this sudden increased activity in Pallikaranai made me change my post. Just glancing at the swamps has become a habit for me, whenever I drive through the Thuraipakkam – Pallavaram road. On Saturday afternoon when I was going that way, a single file of some 15 – 20 white birds standing at the centre of the swamp caught my attention. I was not able to identify the bird immediately as my mind could not relate flamingo as a bird which can be seen in Pallikaranai. I stopped my vehicle and crossed into the fencing. As the sun was glaring and the birds were totally white, it took me sometime to convince myself that those birds were flamingos. That night I went through the net and came across many articles about the sighting of Flamingos in pallikaranai.

Next day was a Sunday; I reached the marsh at around 5.45 in the morning with my camera. Crossed into the fencing and stood in a place where there were no trees. Unfortunately during my last trip to Kelambakkam backwaters the quick release plate of my cheap tripod broke due to the excess weight of my Sigma 120 – 400 lens, so I had to take all the photos handheld. Also there were some other winged friends as usual; A Red-wattled Lapwing was busy chasing a dog to protect its nest and an Oriental Ibis making a landing.

Red-wattled Lapwing

I always wanted to visit Pulicat during the flamingo season but never got the right company and opportunity. May not be very good pictures but after all “been there and done that”

Oriental Ibis or Black headed Ibis making a landing