Birds of India – Part 3

Apart from serene beaches and famous temples, the Konkan region of Maharashtra is also known for green mountains and wetlands which are home to various species of birds. I had covered some of the birds in the first part of this series. However, I couldn’t cover the aquatic birds. The second part was about birds found in Kalyan-Dombivli region of Thane district of Maharashtra.

This post covers photos of some aquatic birds which are found in South Konkan region. These birds are found near wetlands areas such as riverbanks, creeks, marshes, backwaters, ponds, saltpans, mangroves and near seashores. Some times they are also found in farms which are close to the wetlands.The Konkan region being a coastal region, host lot of migratory birds and local wetland birds.

According to Wikipedia, some aquatic birds are more terrestrial or aquatic than other birds and their adaptation varies depending on their living environment. Such adaptations include bills (beaks), webbed feet and legs adapted to feed in water and ability to dive from the surface or the air to catch prey ^[1]. Their prime diet is fish. However their wild diet also includes variety of insects, amphibians and small reptiles ^[2].

In past few years, I have spotted various aquatic birds such as Cormorant, Common Sandpiper, Asian openbill stork, Little Heron, Common Egrets, Black-winged stilt, Red-watted lapwing in the South Konkan region. The best time to spot them is during early morning hours.

If you are on Konkan tour, do lookout for these aquatic birds at nearby wetland areas 🙂

Here are some photos of aquatic birds captured by me.

Flying Egrets in background of  beautiful Sunrise

Distant view of Egrets in background of beautiful Sunrise

Distant view of Egrets

Great Egrets or Common Egrets

Great Egrets or Common Egrets

Asian openbill stork and Common Egrets

Common Egrets

Little Egret

Common Egret

Cormorants

Cormorant

Cormorants

Cormorant

Cormorant

Common Sandpiper

Little Heron

Common Egrets

Black Egret in midst of Great Egrets and Black-winged stilts

Black Egret in midst of Great Egrets and Black-winged stilts

Little Egret

Asian openbill stork

Cattle Egret

Common Egrets

Egret

Common sandpiper

Red-wattled lapwings

Common Egret

Black-winged stilt

My birds count so far:

Birds of India Series	Names of Birds	Count
Bird of India – Part 3	1. Cormorant 2. Common Sandpiper 3. Asian openbill stork 4. Little Heron 5. Common Egret or Great Egret 6. Little Egret 7. Black Egret 8. Cattle Egret 9. Black-winged stilt 10. Red-wattled lapwing	10
Birds of India – Part 2	1) Indian golden oriole (Male) – (Oriolus kundoo) 2) Indian golden oriole (Female) – (Oriolus kundoo) 3) Asian female Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) 4) Shikra (Accipiter badius) 5) White-breasted Fantail (Rhipidura albicollis) 6) Black drongo 7) Common tailorbird 8) Red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) 9) Coppersmith barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus) 10) Purple-rumped sunbird female (Leptocoma zeylonica) 11) Parrot 12) Common mynas 13) Unknown bird	13
Birds of India – Part 1	1) Green Bee-Eater (Merops orientalis) 2) Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) 3) Woodpecker 4) White breasted kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) 5) Red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) 6) Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) 7) Banded Bay Cuckoo (Cacomantis sonneratii) 8) Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus) 9) Brown headed barbet 10) Green Barbet 11) Greater Coucal or Crow Pheasant 12) Brahminy kite (red-backed sea-eagle) 13) Eagle 14) Cuckoo (Female) – (Cuculus micropterus) 15) Red rumped swallows 16) White breasted waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)	16
		39

References:
1. Water Birds
2. Birds feeding chart

Read more on Indian birds
1. Birds of India – Part 1
2. Birds of India – Part 2
3. Indian Golden Oriole
4. Black-rumped Flameback Woodpecker
5. Common tailorbird
6. Green bee-eaters
7. Seagulls
8. Red-vented bulbul
9. Baya Weaver
10. Coppersmith Barbet the official Bird of Mumbai
11. Oriental Magpie Robin