Birding in the Wet Fields

There are a number of large, wet paddy fields close to my house here. Although not 'biodiversity hotspots' in any way, a walk through these fields once in a while might yield some interesting results. During the monsoons, these fields are said to be filled with water snakes, especially in the muddy water. Anyway, I decided to head out to one of these large fields one afternoon to practice birding.

The most common birds here were these storks/herons.

Since it was sunny and bright, it was possible to shoot the birds in flight with fast shutter speeds, without worrying about shake.

Another common bird within these fields was the Purple Swamphen. I never knew of such birds in the locality, as these wet fields are so far the only places I've ever encountered them.

Look at this guy peeking from the tall grasses! He was barely visible from such a distance.

A group of birds

And one flies off!