Ecological Dynamism & Seasonal Rhythm of the Pallikaranai Wetland 💚

Raptor Time | Unusually High!

Ecological Dynamism & Seasonal Rhythm of the Pallikaranai Wetland

Today’s Visit | A Report

15th June 2025

#intothewildwithrufus

Today, buoyed by an article in the Chennai Edition of The Times of India on the arrival of raptors in large numbers, I headed straight to the Pallikaranai marshland, to witness the raptor army this afternoon, after the ceremonial faculty fellowship in College. 

I first alighted at the Pallikaranai Eco Park, hoping to sight the raptor army. However, the bevy of lovers’ armies inside the Ecopark far outsmarted and outwitted the raptor army by the dozens! 😊

Having brought along a camera with me, and having paid Rs. 200/- as Camera Charges, I felt unduly embarrassed to even take out my camera, considering the bevy of lovers seated on all corners of the Eco Park.

Still, I had some space to shoot a few lovely shots in the process.  Giving them here for us in this post.

But first, what is Ecological dynamism?

Ecological dynamism refers to the ever-changing and interconnected nature of ecosystems. It emphasizes that ecosystems are not static entities but rather complex, adaptive systems that are constantly in flux due to a variety of factors.

The National Academy of Sciences, US, in their book titled, The Geological Record of Ecological Dynamics state that –

Organisms respond to environmental change at many scales—from the individual to the entire biosphere, and from near instants in time to the entire record of life on Earth.

Biosphere dynamics encompasses diverse processes, including growth rates of individuals and populations, shifts in geographic range, alterations in the rates and kinds of biogeochemical cycling, changes in the composition of communities over varied timescales, speciation, and local, regional, and global extinction.

With this vast array of phenomena that could be subsumed under the term biosphere dynamics, the committee chose to concentrate its efforts on the geologic record of “ecological dynamics”—the changes and interactions in the earth-life system expressed as alterations in features such as species distributions, species abundance, environment, and climate,

says the book.

Flocks of black kites, black-shouldered kites, and shikras have taken over the skies following the departure of breeding birds like cattle egrets. Among them, black kites dominate in number.

Nature Trust founder K V R K Thirunaranan, who has been monitoring bird activity here for 15 years, said these raptors arrive from Kerala with the onset of the southwest monsoon and return once the northeast monsoon begins in Tamil Nadu.

This seasonal rhythm signals a dramatic shift in the marshland’s birdlife, revealing the ecological dynamism of the wetland.

Chennai district forest officer V A Saravanan said the raptors usually begin arriving in April in small numbers, peaking in August. 

“However, this year, their numbers were unusually high right from the beginning,” he noted.

Raptor researcher C Sasikumar from Kannur, Kerala, said the migration of raptors from north Kerala to Tamil Nadu has been documented since the 1940s.

“An early birdwatcher had recorded this movement, which continues even today,” he said.

Interestingly, while raptors from north Kerala migrate as soon as the southwest monsoon hits, their counterparts in south Kerala tend to stay put despite the rains. This year, the southwest monsoon hit Kerala in the third week of May, prompting immediate movement of the birds,

says the article in today’s Times of India.

I also spotted the Asian Open-Bill today in the Pallikaranai Wetlands, along with a host of other wetland birds. 

Well, it is called the Asian Open-Bill, because of their dull yellow-grey open bill with a specific gap formed between the lower and upper mandible of the beak in adult bird.