A ‘summer checklist’ for Perumbakkam wetland

Perumbakkam wetland is beginning to develop a “tan”.

- 

The bulrushes are beginning to shrink resembling ageing human skin drained of fat. These are nature's aide-memoire on what next to expect. It is a “gentle reminder” — using a phrase that makes nudges to action palatable in polite society — that the Perumbakkam wetland is an easy target for fires during summer. And it is time to start efforts to scuttle that possibility, checking factors that can be controlled. Summer heat can cause fires on dry vegetation, but there could be something else at work. Before proceeding further, here is what is at stake. At risk of repeating the evident, Perumbakkam wetland is not the sole preserve of waterbirds. Certain parts of it host ground-nesting birds, an