At 915 with happiness and sorrow

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     I wanted to use my jet lag period in Chennai to good advantage. I planned on Pallikarani, Arihant Apt marsh followed by my favorite shorebirds/waterbirds hotspot 'Perumbakkam marsh'. For this, I borrowed my mother's scooter. PKN produced decent birds, all of them being expected - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40635416. On the way to Arihant Apt marsh at Thoraipakkam, I took a wrong turn and went on Customs Excise Colony Road. The roads were in a bad shape, and it became clear that these were on encroached reedy wetlands. I took a pause to scan the water bodies on either side of the road. I saw Moorhens, Waterhens, and Swamphens.

Happiness:
    
Ruddy-breasted Crake
     There was one particular rail like bird which I initially thought was a Waterhen, but when I put binocs I could see a reddish-brown head and breast and a dark back. I knew that this was a Rail/Crake and my guess was a Ruddy Crake based on my memory of flipping the pages of my bird guide. I took some pics just to make sure and also checked online for the bird species. It turned out that it was called Ruddy-breasted Crake, and it was bird number 915. This was enough for the day, if not for the trip! The bird ran away and hid among the reeds when a vehicle approached. ebird flagged this, and so I wanted a better pic not knowing how much I can recover from my poor initial pics. I was able to relocate it now and then, but the bird was very skulky. The bird was very close once, and all I could see was it's legs. After a few failed attempts of photo'ing it again, I gave up. There were at least a couple of Clamorous Reed Warblers creating good noise from the reeds. An Indian Moorhen chick and a family of three Grey-headed Swamphens with one adult, one chick, and one juvenile were the other highlights. I also had all of the three expected Kingfisher species from the single spot. Here is the checklist:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40635654 . Arihanth apt Marsh was back lit and due to a lack of time I called it a day. I was on a high with the sighting of a skulker which was a lifer, that too in my hometown!

    
Ruddy-breasted Crake

Sorrow:
    
     The bird being with a plastic bottle on a lake filled with trash here and there summarizes the problems in the city. I have seen similar places around the area disappear over time. I'm afraid this lake will turn into a housing complex soon. What about the fishes? What about the birds? What about the rain water? The world keeps on turning, the birds keep on disappearing, and I keep on watching the remaining, with sorrow.

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