Sambhar and the sea of pink

Our first sighting of the Lesser Flamingo from the main road.

Neither of us has a wide-angle lens, so this photo probably captures just about a fraction of the flock. Sambhar lake is literally a sea of pink.
 It is my first sighting of Lesser Flamingo in Rajasthan - though small numbers occasionally mixed in with Greater Flamingo do have an erratic distribution across our lakes and jheels in the monsoon and winter months.

We are in Sambhar, a non-descript town between Jaipur and Ajmer, better known for the record quantities of salt that is extracted from geometrical pans that have been carved out from a vast expanse of shallow brackish water. 

We estimate the Lesser Flamingo to be at least 20,000. There are also a smaller number of Greater Flamingo - probably 1,000.

The rectangular salt pans are criss-crossed by narrow railway lines.

Tiny locomotives once used to pull the wooden wagons laden with salt.

Blue-cheeked Bee Eater

A short distance from Sambhar, near the Railway Junction of Phulera, the recent rains have flooded several low-lying areas, creating shallow jheels and reedy ponds.

Greater Flamingo - juveniles

Interestingly some of the Greater Flamingo were dabbling like ducks ...

Three species of Terns were actively hunting and then resting on pebbly sand bars.

Gull- billed Terns

River Terns

Whiskered Terns were the third Tern species, distinctive by their size difference and plumage compared to the two larger terns above.

Waders were already plentiful. Mainly Ruff and Black-tailed Godwits as pictured below. Also Pied Avocets, Common Greenshanks, Redshanks, Green and Wood Sandpipers, (both) Stints, (both) Plovers. ...

Several islands and sandy banks had small numbers of Small Pranticole - standing about in the mid-day sun.

Nilgai, Common Coot and Eurasian Spoonbill

Ducks were represented by Gadwall, Shovellers and a few Spotbills.

One juvenile Eurasian Marsh Harrier was observed; as also a 'ringtail' flying uncharacteristically high - appeared to be Mantagu's Harrier, perhaps on passage.

Four Eurasian Curlew flew low overhead, but we only saw them when they called, and failed to get a photo as both had greasy sandwiches in hand then ! 

Amongst other birds - Crested Larks were plentiful.

Many thanks to Mr. Devendra Bhardwaj for this trip on 16th September 2012.