The greater flamingoes seemed drugged in the heat haze from the Bay of Bengal. Near them waded white ibis from Bangladesh, and rare Brahminy ducks from Mongolia drilled their heads into the lake. I was with bird observer Hrudananda Jena at Lake Chilika, in the Indian state of Orissa. The largest brackish water lagoon in Asia, Chilika lies halfway up coast of the eastern state, 100km from its capital, Bhubaneswar.
Jena works for Orissa's forestry department. For 23 years he has watched millions of migratory birds arrive every winter, from as far away as the Caspian Sea. In tune with the birds' habits, he nests in a watchtower on Nalabana Island at the centre of the lake for half the year, taking down sightings: 118 species so far this season.
The Lake Chilika wetland is a complex mix of brackish water in the west, fresh water from the north and more salty water on the east where it links to the Bay of Bengal. The lagoon swells from 960 sq km in the summer months of March to June to 1165 sq km in the rainy season. By September, Nalabana is submerged in water.
At Barkul, one of the lake's quieter access points, Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has just built Panthanivas, a crop of holiday bungalows with terraces facing the water. There is other tourist accommodation dotted around the lake. Enthusiasts can visit the island sanctuary by prior appointment.
"This winter, five lakh birds [500,000] flocked to Nalabana Island while 10 lakh [1,000,000] altogether came to Lake Chilika," said Jena, who met me there. We saw bar-headed geese, sandpipers, golden plover and a dandy Caspian tern preening its mohican tuft. Aside from the wildlife, tourists can enjoy beaches and boat trips to islands including the holy island of Kalijai, with its shrine to the eponymous goddess.
Satpada, on the coastal side of the lake, is popular with tourists who come to watch more than 130 endangered Irrawaddy dolphins flash their fins at the sun. The beaches are mass nesting sites for dwindling numbers of olive ridley turtles. And prowling the sandbar that separates Chilika from the Bay of Bengal are jackals and hyenas.
Orissa is a deeply religious and traditional state, famed for its medieval temples and indigenous handicrafts. The sacred city of Puri is home to the 12th-century Lord Jagannath temple, the tallest temple in Orissa to which Hindu pilgrims flock from all over India, and Konark, further east along the coast, is the site of a 13th-century Sun Temple.
But the lake's calm setting is changing, said Jena. The west's insatiable appetite for prawns has led to huge farms being built near the shores, which has affected fish and bird numbers. Previously the birds were scattered comfortably across the wetlands but now they gather mainly on just four small islands.
Chilika is one of India's best birdwatching havens, and yet because of its lacks of infrastructure, few travellers venture here. It's a shame; it would be a great retreat for those travelling north from Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu to Kolkata.
• Kingfisher (flykingfisher.com) and IndiGo (goindigo.in) fly from Delhi and Mumbai to Bhubaneswar. The Kolkata–Chennai railway runs past Chilika. Bungalows for two at Panthanivas (panthanivas.com/chilika.html) cost from around £10. For more information see orissatourism.gov.in, wildlifeorissa.org and panthanivas.com
