Photographers and birdwatchers take boat safaris regularly at Mangalajodi wetlands in Chilika lake lagoon to capture special shots of water birds. [N Shiva Kumar]

The first light of dawn spills across the Mangalajodi wetlands, setting the vast marshland aglow with shimmering slanting morning light. A symphony of calls rises from the reeds—squawking egrets, gaggling geese, melodious…