Lesser whistling Duck, Kulia-Pater Beel, Nadia, West Bengal

[Samrat Sarkar]

Photographed in Kulia-Pater Beel, Nadia, WB in Nov 2014
Canon 7D + Canon 500mm f4 IS II USM + Monopod
ISO 500, 1/2500, F4, Av, 30% crop

[Roopak Gangadharan]

nice ... does this place attract good numbers of water fowl / migrants ??
TFS
Roopak

[Mrudul Godbole]

The landing pose looks nice. There is some noise due to the crop. Wish the birds were closer. Look forward to more. Thanks for sharing.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Good to see this. How big is this beel? Is the water hygienic to enter a few feet for better view?

[Samrat Sarkar]

@Mr. Gangadharan
This year we visited this beel on three occasions, and the birds we spotted there are:-
1. Lesser Whistling Duck
2. Cotton Pygmy goose
3. Pheasant-tailed Jacana.
4. Bronzed-winged jacana.
5. Red-wattled Lapwing
6. Little Cormorant
7. Pond Heron
8. Purple Swamphen
9. Common Moorhen
10. White Breasted Waterhen
11. Common Coot
12. Purple Heron
13. White breasted Kingfisher
14. Common Kingfisher
15. Great Cormorant
16. White Wagtail
17. Citrine Wagtail
18. Green Bee-eater
19. Wood Sandpiper
20. Common Hawk-cuckoo
21. Common Hoopoe
22. Yellow-eyed Babbler
23. Plain Prinia
24. Asian Openbill-Stork
25. Gadwall
26. Booted Warbler
27. Brown Shrike
28. Great Egret
Most possibly there might be some other species which might have evaded our notice.
@ Sabyasachida
The beel is about one kilometre long with varying width at different places. The place we went for birding was about 250 mtres wide. It is fast losing its areas due to modern human activities. A big factory with a chimney has come up very close to the beel posing a great threat to it. There is a big hospital nearby and a busy road bifurcating the beel as well.
I feel that the beels of Nadia and North 24 Parganas District such as these are the lungs of these areas and should be protected from further human encroachment.
This winter we are concentrating on the documentation of various residential and migratory birds of these beels.
We are unaware whether the beel is hygenic or not; we did not touch the water. But we have seen the effluence from the factory and don't know whether it is toxic or not.
@ Mrudul
Thanks for your opinion.