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| Lush Green homes |
Islands in the sun, birds in the air and crocodiles in the river greeted me. Thick foliage and fresh breeze formed a perfect backdrop for the birdsong.
We were chaperoned by nonchalant Marsh crocodiles on our boat ride. This gave good reason for some women and kids to let out birdlike squeaks.
Painted storks, open billed storks, cattle egret (in their beautiful orange breeding plumage), cormorants, night herons, fruit bats and wagtails went about their business unmindful of the fifteen pairs of ogling eyes.
Twiggy nests held long legged chicks while their parents fetched leaves to quilt the home. I think there's no better image of freedom than a huge bird winging over a shimmering river, a branch in its beak against the backdrop of a cool blue sky. Of course, the million shades of green in the wild foliage and the cool breeze urged me to believe that there existed many more such oases where these beautiful feathered species were safe.
The Mugger has a stealthy silent air about him. Barely seen above the surface he eyes the birds perched on little rocks. I watched one gobble up a Open Bill Stork. The other storks watched their friend's legs disappear into a huge serrated opening in the river and I quelled my unease with the thought that Nature's balance was at work.
The boatman told me that of the forty odd shrieking hatchlings of a Mugger, only a few survived. The rest were eaten by the storks. So there, the balance was at work already.
I'll be back again for the longer early morning boat ride. Till then... I have these memories for company.
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| Breakfast done. |
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| Stork Colony |
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| Look at my wedding finery |
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| You know why I'm Open-billed... |
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| Long legged chicks in twiggy homes |
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