Birdwatch

These little beings fly from deep inside the mighty mountains, their summer homes and breeding grounds, to winter in the parks, gardens and forested areas around Chandigarh on the foothill.

These little beings fly from deep inside the mighty mountains, their summer homes and breeding grounds, to winter in the parks, gardens and forested areas around Chandigarh on the foothill.

Northern Shovelers fly at 65 km per hour and most fly at 300-600 metre (1,000-2,000 feet) altitude but sometimes may be found at 2,000 metre or above too.

Tufted Ducks start arriving in India from late October and go back to their breeding grounds by the end of March. They come from a very wide arc, ranging from north Palearctic Europe to the Russian city of Yakutsk on River Lena in the east.

The common teal can be spotted at Sukhna Lake, Chattbir, Ghaggar, Mote Majra, Siswan and Mirzapur.

These birds build their nests on the ground in tall grass, reeds or on small floating islands of vegetation out on the water. The nest is lined with feathers, and the goose lays an average of six eggs, each measuring about 6x9 cm.

Legend has it that two people fell in love but the Gods did not approve their alliance and transformed them into Ruddy Shelducks and placed them on opposite shores of a river, with a curse that they could never meet.

Bar-headed geese migrate in flocks and nest in colonies of thousands. In the tricity, they can be seen in the Sukhna Lake, Mote Majra, Siswan and other water bodies.