A hat trick at Great Salt Lake in Kalavakkam
The Hindu
The section of Great Salt Lake in Kalavakkam on OMR is relatively under-birded; here is fresh reason for birders to be regular in visiting this patch, particularly during the migratory season
Sample these scenarios where the least expected —or the unthought — happens against a fast-ticking clock, ushering in fresh joy.
A result-altering three back-to-back goals in the additional moments of a football match. Three sixes in a row in the final over of a 20-20 tipping the scale. Or, three less-seen migratory birds sighted on the same day within inches of each other, at the tail-end of a wintering season.
Sathish Kumar, an IT professional during the week and a birder during the weekend, experienced the very last scenario.
His jaw dropped during a birding trip to Great Salt Lake (GSL) last weekend and it is yet to snap back to its normal position.
On May 3, 2025, at the salt pans in GSL opposite SSN College in Kalavakkam, Sathish saw a Gull-billed tern, a Slender-billed gull and a Spotted redshank.
He has photographed all three with the Slender-billed gull and the Spotted redshank even filling one frame.
Sathish Kumar considers the sighting of the Spotted redshank extraordinary. It was a ‘lifer’ to him. In birding terms, a lifer marks the first time someone sees a particular bird species in the field.
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