Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out! Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we
In my earlier post, I wrote about the flamingos we saw at Sewri. They are, after all, the main reason people flock to Sewri these days at low tide! However, there are also scores of other birds which arrive at Sewri for the insects which populate the mud flats. This post is about some of them...
On an earlier visit to Sewri, I remember seeing a large number of small and medium sized birds - little stints, sandpipers, varieties of herons and egrets..... and being told that all these birds migrate to the same areas and live off the same place, without any conflict of interest, since each of them has a different kind of bill or beak, made for eating different varieties of insects or creatures, found in different layers of the soil. Some have small bills which barely skim the surface of the mudflats, eating the creatures inhabiting the upper layer...while others have much longer beaks, which penetrate deeper into the soil, convenient for entrapping insects hidden deep within. It was amazing to learn how these birds manage to live in harmony.
These are either Little Stints or Sandpipers. My identification skills dont extend so far as to make a perfect ID! So, can all you birders out there please confirm the identity of this bird?
I first thought these were two different species of birds, but apparently, they are the same species,, just the ones in front are in breeding plumage!
There were other birds too.... A painted stork was spotted at a distance, but it flew before I could click a pic. This Black Headed Ibis turned up rather late in the day, just as I was about to leave....
Waiting a while longer turned out to be a good thing, for we next spotted a Western Reef Egret..
There were other, common birds too... such as this Egret...
and this Pond Heron, which I see in my colony, but have never managed to capture this well!!
Oh, and these werent the only creatures we saw at Sewri.. just the birds!! There are a couple more posts coming up!
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Very pretty pictures!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, visual post!
ReplyDeleteI like the comprehensive range of bird species that you have managed to photograph. Well done.
ReplyDeleteMy bird watching is confined at home but they are the traditional ones only seen during a particular season. In this post I find many many more beautifully captured.
ReplyDeleteLovely captures. Such variety too. They all look graceful doing their business for the day!
ReplyDeleteenjoyed looking at them. Thanks.
Wow...the pictures are breathtaking Anu! It seems to be a great place for bird watching!
ReplyDeleteNice collection of birds
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing
Brilliant stuff!
ReplyDeleteGurgaonflowerplaza.com
superb shots of birds
ReplyDeleteThe bird in the first and fourth photos is a common sandpiper, notice the short straight beak. The birds in a few subsequent photos are apparently curlew sandpipers, some in breeding plumage, notice the slightly down-turning longer beaks. Nice shots.
ReplyDelete