Chilka Lake

Queen of natural beauty, Chilika, the largest brackish water lake in Asia covering an area of over 1,100 sq. km is a great attraction for the tourists for fishing, bird watching and boating. It is one of the hotspot of biodiversity in the country, and some rare, vulnerable and endangered species listed in the IUCN Red List of threatened Animals inhabit in the lagoon. Chilika was designated as a "Ramsar Site", i.e. a wetland of International Importance.The Lagoon is a highly productive ecosystem, with rich fishery resources. The rich fishing ground sustain the livelihood of more than 0.15 million fisherfolk who live in and around the Lagoon.The waterspread area of Chilika varies between 1165 to 906 sq.km during the monsoon and summer respectively. A 32 km long, narrow, outer channel connects the main lagoon to the Bay of Bengal.

Chilka is recognized as one of the most important wetlands in the world because it is home to a phenomenal variety of birds. Chilika Lake offers visitors a spectacular display of its colorful avian charms in a thousand different hues presented by over 160 species in the peak season between November and February. The lake and its reed islands teem with nesting birds-white bellied sea eagles, ospreys, golden plovers, sand pipers, flamingos, pelicans, shovellers, gulls, include migratory ones flying great distances from Iran, Central Asia and Siberia.

Another major attraction at Chilka is Irrawady dolphins which are often spotted off Satpada Island. Satpada, bounded by the lagoon on three sides, offers an excellent view and attracts the visitors to its entire 30 km stretch of sand bar. The lake also supports the local fisherman in earning their living from Chilika's prawn, mackerel and crabs.

The atmosphere is just serene and undisturbed amidst the blue expanse of water on one side and an evergreen range of hills on the other. Dotted with a host of islands with romantic names, a cruise in Chilika will be a life-long memory.

I visited the lake twice recently to capture the landscapes. Unfortunately I could not sight the dolphins, though I travelled in a boat for about three hours one ealy morning. As the lake is very large and the birds fly over a large area, I could not capture the pictures of birds despite taking a long lens. It was also not possible to capture the flamingoes, as the boats are not allowed to go near to the. One has to watch them only from a distance.

The pictures are shot with D 300 and Nikon 18-200 and Tamron 17-50

Sunrise over the lake

Fisherman starting early in the morning

Parking of the fishing boats

Breakfast island

Fishing boat creating ripples

Fishing boat in the fishing nets

Fishing nets tied to capture the fish