The stilts stood in repose
Striking a haiku-like pose.
Black winged stilts
Spot-billed ducksThe grebes and coots were all a-chatter
A congregation of Grebes
A group of Coots"Look at me!", chirped this one,
Little Grebe in breeding plumage"Huh, so what?", grumbled this comb duck
"So am I, but have had no luck.
No mate have I found
Male comb duck, seen at BharatpurAnd you wouldn't understand
The joys of solitude, but I can",
said this frequently solitary pelican.
Spot-billed pelican, with a swallow in the foreground, and a little grebe in the background
Spot-billed pelican, with a swallow in the foreground, and a little grebe in the backgroundBut this grey heron looked miffed.
The roars of the cars on the road nearby
Purple heronjust a trifle lazy,
It stood on the water's edge,
looking at the water so hazy.
With all this sewage and garbage
Its a wonder its able to forage.
Common Cootand to his lady love, clucked and hooted.
With weeds in his bill he chuckled,
And under his courtship, she buckled!
Purple moorhen
Pheasant-tailed jacanawalking on his spidery toes,
"When will my tail appear,
oh will it never, that I fear.
Oh blimey, oh banana,
Mr Ramanan will be there with his camera.
Then make sure you strike him a good pose
So I may salute you with poetry, not prose.
Tell all your feathered friends in the marsh
On us, please dont be too harsh.
We've made a mess
that I confess
But we'll try our best
to reverse the process
and make your homes green once again.
***********
Pallikaranai is the marshy wetland, now very much a part of the city of Madras, encroached upon by development, and spoiled by garbage disposal.
I would love to see the Comb Duck, out of that lot. It is now locally extinct in Sri Lanka.
ReplyDeleteGosh, that was a quick comment, Amila!
ReplyDeleteI've edited the post now. Mr Ramanan pointed out, that the comb duck was at Bharatpur, and not at Pallikaranai! So I've changed that.
Yes we saw them there. You mean it used o be seen all the way south in SL? I didn't know that? Why has it become extinct then?
I should have strictly mentioned that "it is presumed extinct". It used to be a breeding resident in SL and its last accepted records were in 1961 and 1962. Its demise was due to sports hunting, which is now officially banned.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely pictures and rhymes!
ReplyDeleteThis should SO be part of a book on birds - maybe a children's book?
the first shot, of the group of stilts, is superb!
ReplyDeleteWow, lovely shots and beautiful words~~ :)
ReplyDeleteThank you all. It was great fun writing it! i guess the lovely photos set it off.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous simple clean photos... love it!
ReplyDeleteI go with Kamini - a birding book for children should be considered! Enjoyed this post and the pictures!
ReplyDeleteFabulous pics and the rhymes make it fun! I third the idea of a book for kids. And this is inspriring me to write in rhyme on some South African animal / bird pics I was going to put up soon :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely loved the rhymes! And gorgeous pics to boot!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful water birds collection.
ReplyDeleteLove those top four photos
ReplyDeleteThank you all, and yes Andy, the top 4 a remy favourites too, which is why they are up there!
ReplyDeletehi
ReplyDeleteLovely pics out here..I come to madras very often..are there birding groups there..would like to go to Pallikarnai some time or to any other birding spot..
Great blog, you have a very personal, original and awseome style! :)
ReplyDeleteYes Lakshmi, we are part of the Madras Naturalist Society - there's a link on my blog roll, check it out!
ReplyDeletePallikaranai is very easy to visit though - its in the heart of the southern parts of the city, well almost!!
Dominic, I'm flattered, thank you!
Ayyayyo!!!!!!!!!! What poetry!! So lucky am I to witness a poet like thee in full flow!!! Like Kalidasa's mind and the Ganga!!! You should bcome a comedy poet!! =D
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Ambika! The poetry and photos blended beautifully into your story of the Pallikaranai. My favorite is the Purple Moorhen, strutting and hooting.
ReplyDeleteMr Chandusson, now that's a new genre I think, comedy poetry!
ReplyDeleteLarry, so glad you liked it!
Happen to look at your post thro' a link. Lovely and colourful post. Very informative too. Although born and brought up in Chennai, I knew of only Vedanthangal as a bird sanctuary. You have brought out the beauty of Pallikaranai. Thanks.
ReplyDeletePeep into my site when u find time.
Chitchat
http://chitchatcrossroads.blogspot.com/
Fantastic Photos by Mr Ramanan
ReplyDeleteExcellent Rhymes by Ambika!!
I loved it !!
Venkatesh,Tuticorin
when the stench came ,
ReplyDeletei turned my head away,
away from the hidden magic of
Pallikara ra - nai,
birds lands are dying
hope Stalin and co. are realizing,
garbage and encroaching humanity,
civilization marches into insanity ...
palli-ka-ranai beg you to be at least history.
Its been a long while since I was here....sorry for this late response.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ms Chitchat, and I'm always happy when somebody new "discovers" Pallikaranai!
Thanks Venkatesh!
Anonymous, your verse is a sombre reminder of all that needs to be done yet.
hey , nice blog , like it ,
ReplyDeletewon't be nice if i u can clickover to my blog page too ,
& post some suggestion
Well well..I see this after long time and am so glad that I did..had almost forgotten how amazing this blog was..
ReplyDeletethis is a gem...:)
ReplyDeleteFrom the queen of the marsh, I value that, thanks!
DeleteQueen of Marsh ..🙊 I read it again and loved it again
DeleteI read it again too, and wonder where its all gone to!
ReplyDelete