sometimes earlier in the day the local fishermen set out a long net roughly parallel to the shore but slightly curved toward land. the net is set from their boat several hundred meters from the beach. long ropes attached to each end are brought to shore and staked in place.
a while before sunset the fishermen return to the beach and split into two groups. while they slowly pull in the net birds start to gather looking for any fish that approach the surface.
among the largest species there are brahminy kites, black kites and white-bellied sea eagles. in addition there are several species of gulls and even house crows.
as the net is drawn closer to land both the fish and the birds concentrate in progressively smaller areas. the scene tends to draw a considerable audience of locals and beachgoers as well, including my wife (photo) and i.
a few of the birds do manage to snap up a fish but that is the easy part. the competition that ensues for that catch is a drama in itself. it appears unlikely that the bird who actually caught the fish is the one who eats it in the end.
after the net is fully on land only the bravest dare to try to sneak in and steal a fish so many of the birds give up and disappear but there are always some who hang around for a while yet just in case
my wife took my profile photo on one such evening in the aftermath of the event .here it is in full. it may have been a suitable entry photo for the contest but since it has been published previously i include it here as a piquant side note
either my wife or i have taken/removed all these photos on arawali beach in sindhudurg district maharashtra.