Thamirabarani landscapes with MNS

Our Tirunelveli trip , so well captured by Mr Shankarnarayanan.  Thank you sir!

"Ainthinai is the concept of five geographical landscapes mentioned in Sangam literature- Kurinji (Mountaimous regions} , Mullai (Land of Waterfalls, Ponds), Paalai( Desert or parched regions), Marudam ( Crop Land), Neithal (Coastal Terrain).  

I participated in the recent MNS field trip to explore the Ainthinai Landscapes along the Thamirabarani river in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin Districts.

Iam sharing my photo album "Ainthinai" covering this trip.

Our stay was at 'Atree complex Manimuthar. 'Atree' officials were with us throughout the tour."

I have embedded the album here - and one can move through the album with left and right arrow keys.  Clicking on the album, will take you to the Flickr page as well.

Birds of the Yellow Sea

The familiar bar-tailed godwit, plovers, looking so different in their breeding plumage.   

Thanks to Umesh for sharing this absolutely beautiful video.

"The intertidal mudflats of the Yellow Sea contain the most important stopover sites for migratory shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway - a flyway that has transported birds from breeding grounds in the Russian and Alaskan Arctic to wintering areas in Southern Asia, Australia and New Zealand for hundreds of thousands of years. The productivity of the Yellow Sea’s mudflats and the food they provide to migratory birds are critical to the survival of many species.

This film provides a primer on the basic biological principles of migratory shorebird ecology and why the Yellow Sea is a critical international hub for bird migration. 

Film is also available in Korean, Mandarin, Japanese and Russian.

Filmed and narrated by Gerrit Vyn

Edited by Tom Swarthout