A Winter Odyssey
With the season of migratory birds at its peak, birding experts share a tell-all guide to find these guests in the underrated pockets of the city for an epic spectacle
In April 2018, a White-throated Kingfisher pulled me out of a deep, dark pit. Then, every time I was distraught, it would appear before me, uncannily, to a point when I thought I was hallucinating. But turns out, I wasn’t.
The phenomenon continued even after I moved to a new address, a few kilometres away from my previous residence. So, it’s not without reason that the bird is a personal, close-to-magical, and unexplainable part of my life.
Even though it is the most habitual Kingfisher in urban pockets, spotting one isn’t an everyday affair for most city dwellers. KV Sudhakar, president of Madras Naturalist Society, says, “Finding a White-throated Kingfisher in Chennai shouldn’t be that hard. Chennai is one of the most ideally located cities for birding. We are located near the coast, we have a river that has an estuary (Adyar River), and we also have marshlands (like Pallikaranai, Sholinganallur), swamps (like Ram Nagar Swamps), scrub jungles, a national park (Guindy National Park), and even a reserved forest in the city (Nanmangalam). So, different species that prefer different types of vegetation, landscape, and living conditions grace Chennai.”
Perhaps this is why birding as an activity has seen rampant growth, especially during the 2020-2021 Covid era, which persuaded Chennaiites to turn to it as a pet pursuit. Sudhakar agrees, but also points out that ample free time may not be the only reason.
“Lots of webinars were conducted during the pandemic. Similarly, the boom of social media is another major reason, because I see so many young people clicking pictures of birds to post on Instagram,” he shares.
Additionally, the advent of platforms like E-bird and ease of access to information have also made birding a common man’s activity. “Twenty years ago, birding was considered an elitist hobby. In those days, only English books were available for birding, which restricted it from reaching different strata of society. However, now we have books in almost all languages, and so we have some excellent bird-watchers who hail from remote places,” points out Sudhakar.
But this increase in the number of birders is not without cons. For one, the rise in population has snatched open spaces, rues Sudhakar. Hence, it becomes necessary to identify the lesser-known birding spots that are easy to access, and to take the pressure off the frequented ones.
Poochi Venkat, a naturalist from the city, insists that word of mouth is needed because public enthusiasm will help in conservation. “For this to happen, the locals must know that they have something extraordinary, which they should visit and protect,” he shares.
Taking this message forward, and with the migratory season underway, Chennai’s expert birders recommend a few lesser-known spots for budding birders – all within the Chennai Metropolitan area, in a 40-km radius from Central Chennai.
Follow the chirps
Let’s begin with the lake near Puzhal Central Jail in Red Hills. We presume there would be no reason for us to visit the prison, but Elangovan Viswanathan, an avid bird-watcher, suggests exploring the north-western shore of the Puzhal lake, as the trees here are home to Little Cormorants and Black-crowned Night Herons.
Though Cormorants, Herons, Spoonbills, Pelicans, and Shrikes are a few of the common groups of birds that can be spotted here, he cherishes the time when he witnessed the migratory
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https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2022/jan/02/a-winterodysseyexperts-share-guide-to-chennais-migratory-birds-2402359.html
