It's Always Beak Season In Mangalajodi

A Cruise With Locals In Odisha's Wetlands Is A Birder's Delight

- Sutirtha Lahiri

Birders often have their eccentric wish lists before they set off on a pursuit. Some may want to see a peregrine falcon hunt, some may want to chance upon their favourite—and hitherto jinxed—warbler. Others may wish to see that ever-elusive Himalayan wood owl. I had mine as well. I wanted to see a Pacific golden plover in the golden light. It was with this desire that I found myself on a boat one evening, exploring the languid waters of Mangalajodi this February.

My journey through this freshwater wetland, situated to the north of Odisha’s Chilika lagoon, the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia, started when I stepped on a boat rowed by a local. Long, slender and made of wood, this is the kind of boat I'd believe to be a thing of the past. And yet there I was, perched on its partitioned body, waiting to explore the treasures of marshland wildlife. Roughly a 1.5-hour drive from Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, the Mangalajodi wetland hosts a stunning diversity of birds—native and migratory—almost 230 species.