Amazing Snaps of Ibis, Herons and Egrets at the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon

Feels great to see a Cattle Egret take a good shake before starting its day in the morning at the Basai Wetland in Gurugram. 

A lone White Ibis looks at me with curiosity even as an Egret peeps from below. Egrets and Ibis seem to tolerate each other fairly well!

As I said earlier, Egrets and Ibis seem to have a fairly good relationship with each other. Moreover, they seem to be fairly at ease with human beings around!

A Red-Naped Bronze coloured Ibis stands before a White Black-headed Ibis at the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon. Both of them belong to different families but live in close proximity to each other.

A Heron peeps into the water for a meal of fish. Herons are quite commonly found in the wetland of India. They are tolerant of human beings.

A Bee-eater preens itself at the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon. Bee-eaters can be found in great numbers on the outskirts of the town.

A Purple-Heron soars high in the sky over the Basai Wetland. Purple Herons are quite common wherever there is water on the surface. They happily consume fish and other amphibians, frogs and snails.

Woolly-necked Storks make the Basai Wetland their home

This month when I visited the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon, I saw a couple of Woolly-necked Storks at home! I have been seeing Woolly-necked Storks for a whole year now and they seem to be less inhibited than the Painted-Storks that are shyer and tend to avoid proximity to the paths on which people walk.

Although I was on the spot for a good half an hour or a little more, I didn't see the Storks hunt for fish. It was morning, a little after eight in the morning and the lighting was not so good. One very evocative photograph was that of the birds on the path with a man in the background. Both were least bothered and, I guess more tolerant of each other! Another, rather touching snap was of the crow on one side, seemingly talking to one of the storks.

It is clear that the Woolly-necked Storks are resident for the season and apparently will breed here. The Basai Wetland in Gurgaon is an important breeding ground for a large number of birds. Although the shrinking size of the Wetland poses a serious problem, migratory birds, however, will continue to visit the place.

As long as the Basai Wetland exists, the Woolly-necked Storks will continue to make an appearance. These Storks are quite big and yet graceful in appearance. I am glad to have been able to look at them at close quarters and hope that they continue to have a breeding ground to visit. The Basai Wetland is truly a valuable gift of nature to Gurgaon. Herein lies a treasure-trove that no money can buy!

Juvenile and Adult Painted Storks, Redstart and Others at the Sultanpur National Park

This Saturday when I visited the Sultan[ur National Park, I had thought of focusing on birds in flight. For this, I opted for a really fast shutter speed (1/20000) and an aperture of (f-5.6-f-11). Unfortunately, the fog played spoilsport and I ended up with a few rather smudged up snaps that wouldn't pass muster as mug shots of the Loch Ness Monster taken with a black and white film roll! This post is a reminder that light plays a great role in good photography. Unfortunately, the birds in the Sultanpur National Park seem to disappear from the National Park after nine in the morning. It is as if they like to fly away for shopping after having a hearty meal of fish and snails!

I counted myself lucky to be carrying a smaller lens (55-250 mm) which meant that I might be able to scrape through the dim light especially since I had an f 1:4-5.6 lens. There were others who were carrying 600, 1000 mm lenses that would have had a narrower aperture thus requiring more light!

I was lugging a tripod to which I had attached my camera. This in itself made it a bit difficult to pan or swing to get the flying birds within the view. In the end, I opted to swing the camera using the tripod legs, (unopened) as a pivot. I was able to somehow spot a brace of spot-billed ducks make a landing in the water. I have pasted the snap above.

Nothing can beat the gracefulness of birds in flight, especially the lumbering giants like storks and cranes. I had thought of taking a snap of the lone Duckbill in flight that I had spotted a week before, but alas, it seemed to have shifted to another spot! 

The Juvenile storks, however, seemed to be plentiful and I decided to turn my attention towards them instead. The Juvenile Painted storks lack the bright colours of the adults. Their beaks appear to be dull and their heads lack the bright orange-red colour of the adults. 

But then I was also pleasantly surprised to spot the Black Redstart Bird at the Sultanpur National Park just prior to exiting the park. A rather colourful bird with an attractive colour scheme!

The resident White-throated Kingfisher and the ubiquitous Heron were there as usual, though I would like to add that Kingfishers seem to be aplenty!  The shot posted below seemed to have caught the morning rays of the rising sun to its benefit. Photographers call the morning hours as the golden hours because of the warmer tones!

The Grey Heron seemed to be as curious of me as I was of it! Well, it turned a number of times wondering what I was doing paying it so much attention. It even gave me a full-fronted glare!

The Purple Heron stretched its neck out, unmoving so still, that one might mistake it for an unmoving branch. These birds are known to wait patiently for fish to swim into its vicinity before pouncing for it. At this time of the year, the Sultanpur National Park teems with Herons and Egrets of all kinds.

One Foggy December Morning at the Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Gurgaon

Asian Antelope (Female)

Brrr, it is very cold, the fog shrouds the entire National Park in mystery! All of a sudden, creatures emerge on the path ahead of you and you wonder what the heck, was it worth it visiting the National Park in such foggy conditions! But then, I guess you would agree it was worth it after looking at the rather ethereal and surreal images I was able to capture on one foggy Saturday dawn at the Sultanpur National Park. We all look for pin sharp images, (me included) but then taking photographs that look like paintings seems to be an opportunity not to be missed.

Asian Antelope (Male)

A Heron takes to the air

Egrets Warming up in the early morning sun

The early morning fog and the winter sun rising slowly into the sky gives everything an almost dreamlike quality. It seems as if you are stepping into a fairy-tale world, something that one might not even have dreamt about in this mechanical world. It has become very important today, to be able to connect with nature in all its forms. My Saturday visits to these wetlands give me enough food for thought in any case, a much-needed break from a hectic work culture.

A mixed lot of birds, an egret, cormorants and a duck

It is scenes such as these that get your creative juices flowing. I just hope that the Government and other organisations and the common man realise how important these oases of nature are for all of us. The Basai Wetland, much closer to Gurgaon is another Lost Paradise.

A Painted Stork waiting for the sun

As the world becomes more and more predictable and patterned, it is pleasant surprises such as these that give you zeal and zest for life and all the challenges it can throw at you. The early morning in the best time to see the birds and antelopes in their most peaceful forms, not startled, cackling creatures leaping to the skies in alarm!

Yes, there is gracefulness in birds and animals when they are at peace in their surroundings. National Parks and Sanctuaries need to be treated with great respect. These Sanctuaries should not be places for boisterous people out for a good time, people who are as loud as they can be, carrying with them the mad cacophony of the cities from where they come!

Asian Antelopes peering through the mist

Large Monitor Lizard Remains Spotted at the Basai Wetland

The Basai Wetland in Gurgaon has a tendency of springing surprises every now and then. Today when I visited the wetland I was in for a surprise as right there on the path was a giant monitor lizard of a most colorful kind. measuring a bit more than one and a half feet, it was lying on its side, perhaps, it had been attacked by a large bird, or had been hit by a moving vehicle. Another surprise sighting was a colourful Strawbery Finch bird. I have pasted the photograph below.

I did as a child see lots of monitor lizards close to my home in Arba Minch Ethiopia but then they were not as colourful as this one was. I wonder how much more beautiful this lizard would have been had it been alive. Unfortunately, no one seems to be bothered about preserving the Basai Wetland for posterity. Today as always there were people who were chasing away the Cormorants that were trying to land on the surface to hunt for fish. It was a disappointment for me especially because I wanted to photograph these birds actually diving for the catfish. I wonder with a bit of anger why the authorities are deliberately allowing this treasure trove of flora and fauna to be destroyed, that too with impunity! Wonder if there are not educated people who will take up the cause of protecting the wetland before it is swallowed whole by land sharks and greedy good doers.

Blown Away by a cyclone in Gurgaon

It is only when you are hit by a storm that you realise how harmful it can be! The storms that have been hitting Gurgaon in the recent days have wreaked havoc in various places. Yesterday's storm hit a neighbouring building with a catastrophic effect blowing away the entire tin roof of tenements hired to different families. I did hear a loud bang in the middle of the night but then dismissed it as some kind of harmless noise and went off to sleep. Morning, however,  a horrifying sight devastation, scattered bricks on the road, debris, the tin roof partly supported by high tension electricity cables passing close to the building, clothes scattered on the ground, a lone shoe amidst the debris, and  the strangest of all, the image of a ceiling fan hanging from a pole that had been blown on to the roof of the first floor house of my uncle's house.

A lot of damage can be avoided only if one sticks to accepted building norms. Flimsy construction, the use of tin roofs poorly anchored hoardings, and the existence of high tension cables close to the homes can all be a great danger in times of storms and other natural calamities. Government agencies often turn a blind eye at substandard building construction with the result that incidents such as these can happen. 

The impact of natural disasters can be mitigated through a little more thoughtfulness both in the common citizens as well as civic agencies. Town planning should take into consideration natural disasters and evacuation and rescue operations. Dilapidated buildings need to be either renovated or else demolished, and the same should be done for poorly constructed buildings.

GuruGram

The streams still swept by while the trees did nod,

The sky-scrapers did not block the sun nor the wind!

Sparrows did wake, chirruping in the morn,

But now the Crows do Caw all day long!

The traffic signals were less, the turns so few,

But drivers did have the patience that few

Have now! And all the time had we, and the Sun

Shine so true, and we never did run!

Now, all I hear are cocky Crows that Caw all day long.

   The Sun does shine, but through dust, haze and smog!

Of the sparrows, know I naught, while of the streams see

I none ‘cept the layers of dust that blow for all to see!

The town I knew was the town of my childhood,

A bright ray of joy,fair and fresh, laughing and

Smiling like the dancing mustard fields that stretched

As far as the eyes could see - Guru-Gram  ‘twas called!

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