The Pelican Brief

Uppalapadu, near Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

Pelicans are the bird of the fortnight on this blog, simply because at least four of its contributers went last week to this marvellous place, Uppalapadu, which is one of the biggest breeding centres for the painted stork and the spot-billed pelican.
This picture doesn't do justice but there were what seemed like thousands of these birds. Along one bank were piled heaps and heaps of cut hyacinth and we walked on mounds of rotting weeds, which feels as weird as walking on trampoline.
Quantity birding is quality birding, and there is nothing like seeing a bird over and over again to know it pretty damn well. We now own the spot-billed pelican, hurrah.