More at http://www.sanctuaryasia.com | Birding
The Grey-tailed Tattler is a
medium-sized wader, with long wings
and tail. The bill is rather long and
straight. In non-breeding plumage it
is grey above and almost white below.
There is a white eyebrow. The eyes are
dark brown, bill black, short legs and
feet bright yellow. In breeding plumage,
the entire underparts are conspicuously
barred dark brown. Immature birds
are similar to adults in non-breeding
plumage. This species is also known as
the Grey or Grey-rumped Sandpiper or
the Ashen Tringine Sandpiper.
The Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa
brevipes, which breeds in Siberia
and mostly winters in Australia was
recorded for the fi rst time in the
backwaters of Pulicat in Tiruvallur
district situated on the border between
the states Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh, on September 30, 2017 by
Sundravel Palanivelu and Sivakumar
Shanmugasundaram. The identifi cation
was confi rmed after consultation
with birding experts. Excited by this
information, our team of shore
bird lovers, Aravind Venkataraman,
Ganesh Jayaraman, Sambath Subbaiah
and Ramakrishna Rajamani, all regular
Pulicat birders, decided to locate
the bird.
We visited the shore often on
weekdays and weekends to get a
glimpse of the rare avian. Given that
the bird could be on any of the several
small islands spread across 482 sq. km.,
it was not an easy venture. It hardly
helped that the bird was not sighted in
the area where it had been recorded.
Based on its preferred habitat and
feeding preferences, we knew we had to
search areas where small crabs, worms,
molluscs and snails were plentiful. But
accessibility depended on the tidal
conditions and that made the search all
the more challenging.
Then, one mid-October afternoon,
much to our delight, we found our bird
feeding on the shore. We remained on
the boat and maintained a safe distance
from the bird as we photographed it. To
cast our gaze on it after so many days of
search was indescribable. Frankly we had
almost given up, assuming it might be a
winter vagrant and would have headed
for its wintering grounds in Australia.
Sambath Subbaiah, a Product Manager
with Ford India, is a passionate nature
photographer from Chennai who loves
to travel to photograph avian beauties in
their natural habitat around the world.HOW TO GET THERE:
By Road: Buses ply between the
Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminal to
Pazhaverkadu/Pulicat Lake
(90 minutes).
By Air: Nearest airport is at Chennai
which is 66 km. away from Pulicat.
One can hire a private cab to Pulicat
or travel by bus from the Chennai
Mofussil Bus Terminus.
By Rail: Chennai Central Station is
the nearest train station in Tamil
Nadu. From here, one can hire a
private cab or travel by bus to
Pulicat Lake.
Best Season: December to April.
This is also the best time to spot the
Greater and Lesser Flamingos, which
visit in large numbers. September
and October are ideal to spot
vagrant birds.
Insider Tips: Please hire a local boat
that follows all safety measures to visit
small islands in the Pulicat Lake. Don’t
forget to carry a pair of binoculars
and other camera equipment.Pulicat never fails to amaze birders
and photographers and this season has
turned out to be even more special. As
with several other wetlands and coastal
areas in India, the Pulicat backwaters
are under threat from industry,
overfi shing and rampant human
encroachments. We hope sightings
such as those of the Grey-tailed Tattler
will draw the attention of planners to
the fragility of our natural heritage
and the potential for birds and aquatic
lifeforms to become attractants that
can actually off er dignifi ed livelihoods
to local communities whose help in
protecting the avian and
aquatic life around them
could turn out
to be the silver
bullet that nature
conservation so
badly needs. Bian and
d them