This time, Vedanthangal was open :)

Almost 3 months ago, we drove to the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary about 75 km from Chennai, only to find it closed. In the weeks that followed my interest in birds kind of waned. And then last month, we read in the newspaper that the birds have arrived in Vedanthangal and the sanctuary is now open, so my interest shot up again and we decided to go back :) We enjoyed the drive to the sanctuary even more than the first time because the weather was brilliant.
The Vedanthangal lake is dotted with clusters of trees and attracts migratory water birds from many parts of the world that have winters too harsh for them. The relationship between the birds and the villagers of Vedanthangal is symbiotic - the lake provides a warm and safe feeding ground for the birds, and the bird droppings that fall in the lake fertilize the surrounding fields that receive water from it. The water in the lake recedes in summer, and fills up once the North-East monsoon sets in, just in time for the birds to arrive. One side of the lake is lined by a bund with a tiled walkway and a couple of watch towers for bird watchers, and the rest is surrounded by fields. Read more here.

And now, check out my pictures :) We saw many tropical birds like we did last time, but this post is for the migratory birds.

Here's a closer look

And even closer

Pelicans, cranes, herons, egrets and more - I don't even know which is which