Pelican Paradise

Yes, we went to see these Pelicans in Kolleru for New year. It was a long journey due to heavy traffic on the highway and 400 kms took us 9 hrs. But after everything it was totally worth it. Kolleru is one really beautiful place near Vijaywada and is supposed to be a paradise for migratory birds in winter. The birds come from various colder places like the Himalaya and Nepal for nesting. We reached on the 31st but it was too late due to the delay and the sun had set. We drove down to see the place and smell the air even if in the dark.

The next morning we started off with a forest guide from our hotel in Eluru. After driving 25 kms we reached Kaikaluru, where we could take a boat and get close to the Pelicans and other birds. It was incredibly beautiful in the morning sunlight. The light was gentle due to it being winter, but you could feel hot if you stood in the sun for long. We got some really nice pictures and trekked a bit to locate more birds.


The forest guide informed us about another place called Uppalapadu where there were resident Pelicans. Uppalapadu was close to Guntur so it would be on our way back.

We started back after lunch and soon reached what the forest department called Pelican paradise with very low expectations as it was a not so known place, and we had already seen all the possible birds. But we were in for a surprise when we entered this place which was 1/100th of the size of Kolleru lake. There were Pelicans ans Painted Storks in thousands maybe. They were busier than any office I have seen, busy nesting. They ignored us totally. Pelicans and storks just flying up and down collecting twigs and small branches back to the nesting area and going back again. They established their ability to mate by building impressive nests and proving they were capable of taking care and having a healthy family. This way healthy genes get passed on to the next generation. The sight was overwhelming and breath-taking. I run out of adjectives here. It was totally unexpected and a cherry on top of a really successful trip. I could not ask for more wonderful things to begin this year with!

Some more pictures here.