Birding along the Riverine Southern Sindh

On 2nd September 2018, I joined the birdwatchers for a trip to Haleji lake and the paddy fields of Mirpur Sakro. Left residence at 7 in the morning, with father. We met with the group at 7:30 at Metro Shahra-e-Faisal. Aside from a small Paratha break at a Dhaba at the highway we did not stop and went straight off towards Haleji. There were two cars one driven bu Sir Baig and the other by Sir Saad. I was at the back of the vehicle driven by Sir Saad.
On-wards to Haleji, just before we take the turn on left from the Highway, I spotted a Cinnamon bittern flying away after being mobbed by a bunch of crows. Just at the turn there was a thing canal crossing the turn. There was a small bridge constructed over it to help people take the turn. Our vehicles stopped at the bridge and we all got out to see the weavers! Streaked weavers.
Their calls could be heard from even at least 100 yards away. Some flocks of the active Striated babblers were also present.

Next up, we entered Haleji lake's environs. Apparently, this place was titled "A birdwatcher's Paradise" a couple of years before...I wanted to see how much of paradise it really was.
 One a couple of paddies near the lake's entrance, we found some flocks of ruffs and Temminck's stints.
We were now on the dust road along the edges of the lake...on the right side, we found Purple swamphens and a trio of Pheasant-tailed jacana flew by us, none of us had seen a jacana before! I thought they were some weird cattle egrets! (I know )

Some river terns greeted us and a pair of Common kingfishers began fighting in front of us...they were really small.
Some shy Blue-cheeked bee-eaters on passage flew several times above us but we failed to photograph it until I finally got a bad shot of one literally sitting on the sand road in front of us.
We decided to pack it up and we make a go for Mirpur Sakro wetlands which were half an hour away from us.

A juvenile Brahminy kite baffled us all at a resthouse while leaving Haleji.
My Camera's peep-peep suddenly spoiled the whole fun.
It was dead.
Thankfully, ma'am Bayat's Powerbank came in handy and proved to be a lifesaver!
We arrived near a couple of small villages and rice paddies everywhere. It was jacana land and we knew it. Some Lotus paddies in the distance piqued our search. We got out of the cars in the middle of a village to take some group shots. We just had been awarded some great shots of a pair of Pied kingfishers.

The dark clouds above us were a clear sign of Monsoon on our tail.
We got some sights of a trio of Golden back woodpeckers which were being very shy and constantly hid in the Tamarind trees on the edge of a canal.
I had just found a lonely little cormorant in the middle of the blooming lotus paddy, I had only taken an out of focus shot of such beautiful scenery that Camera battery died and I was all alone with my Panda 35X50.
 There were many lotus paddies scattered throughout the villages.

Suddenly, our lead, Sir Baig called out to us that Jacanas have arrived in a paddy some distance away. The trip highlight had finally arrived and the thought that I would not be able to take its shot scared me.
We got in the cars and left for the paddies...we quickly arrived at the spot and were welcomed by at least two pairs of the Jacanas...I saw them and I was depressed. They were so gorgeous!
Sir Baig called out to me and he had his Powerbank fully charged!!! I put the Cam on charging and took it out for a photograph or two after every 5 minutes.

I got some good shots and we called it a day.