Because the site is frequented by fishermen and cowherds, the marshland birds are pretty habituated to people, making it a good place for photography! Yellow Bitterns seem to be everywhere.
And Purple Herons are common and approachable.
Black-backed Swamphens (a new Robson split) are the cows of the swamps - grazing bovine-like, pulling up great clumps of water hyacinth and feeding with their heads down most of the time. They're a bit more wary than other waterbirds - perhaps they taste good!
Definitely a species that looks its best in the sun!
I managed a glimpse of a slightly prehistoric-looking juvenile.
A smart breeding plumaged Common Sandpiper.
I was alerted to the presence of this group of displaying Cotton Pygmy-Geese by their noisy calls. They were shy though, and soon took off once they realized they'd been spotted.
I caught sight of this snake steaming across a small lake at great speed, and by driving round to its intended destination, managed to get a few pics. This is the reptilian equivalent of the LBJ (Little Brown Job) for me, so please, you herp experts, help me out here! [Thanks to Muin for identifying this as Ptyas korros - Indo-Chinese Rat Snake]
A nearby field held a small breeding colony of Oriental Pratincoles. Most seemed to have small chicks.
This one seemed to have its own security blanket, and would often run to stand by this piece of discarded clothing.
It was interesting to note how little time the parent birds spent with the juvenile. Presumably the chicks are more easily camouflaged when not accompanied by an adult, so contact seems to be kept to a minimum.
Nice! Snake looks like Ptyas korros.
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