Flamingo watch - Annamalaicheri

In Feb, I'd gone to Pulicat sanctuary to spot Flamingos. But, came back disappointed. (http://naturepad.blogspot.in/2012/02/nelapattu-and-pulicat.html )

Only last week, did I come across photos of Flamingos from a place named Annamalai-cheri. I was surprised. I didn't want to let go of this opportunity! Since most of Pulicat sanctuary has dried up, Flamingos don't visit the sanctuary. They've found another place in Pulicat lake, which suits them. That place is near Annamalai-cheri village. So, the very next day, we planned a trip to Annamalai-cheri.

Annamalai-cheri is a small fishing village on the banks of Pulicat lake. To reach the place from Chennai, you drive on NH16, and take a right which leads to Ponneri (State Highway 56). Once you reach Ponneri, ask for direction to Annamalai-cheri. It's best to keep confirming the route from locals till you reach the place. Please note that this is not a proper tourist spot, but a small village. So, carry food and water while you are going there, as you won't get anything there.

Once you reach the village, you'll notice that names and mobile numbers of two people are written on many walls. The thing is, the villagers have nominated 2 boatmen (both teetotallers, I was told!) to take tourists in to the lake and return them safely to the shore. 

We reached the village by about 6.30 am. We called up this guy named Selvam (Mobile number: 0 89739 42455), who turned out to be a really nice guy, who even went to the extent of committing to waive off the charges for the boat ride, if we didn't spot any Flamingos!

We started the boat ride and spotted several cormorants, a few painted storks, little egrets, median egrets, Black headed ibises and Common terns. We also spotted Pacific Golden Plovers (both male and female), Sandpipers, which were first time sightings for us :)

The boatman said there was a forest like area on the other shore, where Flamingos may assemble. But, we didn't spot the flamingos during the first one hour of travel. We then saw a group of 5 flamingos fly from North to south. Then another group, then another. 

We changed our direction and within a few minutes, we saw small white dots really far off, in the lake. Selvam, the boatman identified them as Flamingos - incredible! I clicked a pic, then zoomed it and even then, I wasn't able to confirm! But, Selvam was confident and led us towards the flamingos. On our way, we came across a large group of Spot billed pelicans, and also admired the lovely skill of Pied Kingfisher, which hovers over water for sometime and darts down suddenly to catch the fish.

After sometime we reached a place where the water was too shallow that he had to shut off the engine and he couldn't even use the oar. He got down and pushed the boat for about half an hour! Then, we reached a point beyond which the water was too shallow to even push the boat. The depth was only 2-3 inches (not 2-3 feet, but 2-3 inches) and we could travel only by foot from that point.

Selvam told us that we were unlucky, as the Flamingos were in the center of the shallow portion that day, which meant we had to walk, which meant that Flamingos will be scared and we won't be able to get closer. He mentioned that, just the day before, the Flamingos were at the edge of the shallow part of the lake. And, hence he was able to take the tourists very close to the Flamingos, by boat. They don't get scared if you are on a boat, but are scared only when you are on foot!

We got down from the boat and walked. While walking, we noticed small sacs in water. Hundreds of them. Selvam told us that Prawns' eggs are enclosed in those sacs. Natural protection :) 

After sometime, we could see them very clearly. About 500 flamingos in one big group. Selvam told us that this is about only one-tenth the number of Flamingos which visited last year. As we kept walking towards the Flamingos, we noticed that the distance kept increasing - The flamingos were walking away from us and were moving faster than us, on seeing us! We increased our speed a bit (was tough while wading through water), and managed to get a few photos!

I got a bit greedy, and started to run so that I could get very close. And, all flamingos - every single one - took to the sky that instant! It was such a glorious sight.

I kept watching them longingly as they settled in another spot in the lake, quite far away from where we were standing. They had given us one "darshan" and we were grateful for that!

(More pics in my Google plus album: https://plus.google.com/photos/101762870962161822848/albums/5743521860471003729)