A heron at home on an IT corridor

At a time when waterbirds that hang around reeds, shrubs and tall grasses are dwindling due to a pernicious mindset that views such vegetation as useless, the purple heron seems to have found refuge in the Pallikaranai marsh cheek by jowl with Chennai’s software hub

Waterbirds’ breeding cycles work on the same principle as time-tables. The odd day can shift the hour, even redefine it. That dreaded teacher has not reported for work. Hurrah! That makes it an extra hour at the ground shooting at the goalposts. It can also go the other way with the same dreaded teacher filling in for an absentee colleague through the week, taking an extra hour every day. Sigh! Superimpose this idea on a waterbird’s breeding cycle. It stays sacrosanct till the “odd day” arrives, with too much rain or too little of it, shifting the season this way or the other. Taking in the Sholinganallur Perumbakkam Marshlands, one wonders if this year the breeding season has shifted for some resident waterbirds. This wetland reflects what should be the prevalent picture in most sections of this region. There is sufficient water; and for this time of the year, the wetland looks full, particularly on its eastern side. By extension, food should be in reasonably good supply, if not found in plenty.