MURDESHWAR DIARIES: AUG'14 - Part III

INDIAN POND HERON & LITTLE CORMORANT

At my native place, we have a small piece of vacant land which was formerly under cultivation. My mother tells me that in the past, different kinds of vegetables used to be grown here. Though it may seem to be a waste land for most parts of the year, come monsoon and it becomes a heaven for several varieties of fauna including a host of insects, fishes, frogs, snakes and birds. For five months, from early June to late October as the South-west monsoon hits the Arabian coast, it is transformed into a pond that supports a thriving eco-system, pretty evident from the sheer number of birds seen here. With most of the farmland making way for hotels, lodges and other commercial enterprises that have come up to cash in on the tourism boom, this 'wasteland' is automatically a magnet for the birds.

Below are pictures of two avian species that are extremely common here - the Indian Pond Heron (Wiki Link) and the Little Cormorant (Wiki Link).

Indian Pond Heron

Little Cormorant

Other posts in this series: 
Murdeshwar Diaries: Aug'14 - Part I - Part IV (Link)