As the southwest monsoon advances in Wayanad in full vigour even as early as in the first weeks of June, flocks of water birds have started to congregate at Panamaram heronry for breeding.
Though the rain-inundated wetlands of Panamaram area have brought enough volumes of food for the survival of the avian population, efforts to declare the breeding site as a bird sanctuary remains on paper after several years of conservation efforts.
The heronry, on a small islet on the Kabani river, is an elevated sandbank covered with vegetation, predominantly bamboo grove.
“The largest and oldest heronry in the State is a safe haven for more than nine species of waterbirds for breeding,” says ornithologist C.K. Vishnudas.
“The site is a rare breeding ground for globally threatened water fowls including the Black headed-ibis, Purple Heron, Large Egret, Median Egret, Little Egret, Pond Heron, Night Heron, and Little cormorant, Mr. Vishnudas said, adding it was the only location in State where the Cattle egret breeds.
While nine species of birds were breeding on the tiny island during the monsoon, many other species were breeding on the riverbanks and marshy wetlands nearby, he said.
The birds that bred in the wetlands in the past such as Lesser whistling duck, Jacanas and Moore hens had already disappeared, thanks to the anthropogenic interventions and destruction of the avian habitat, he added.
Large tracts of wetlands in the area were lost owing to increasing construction activities. Unless immediate efforts were taken to protect this fragile ecosystem, a rare ecological treasure trove would be lost, Mr. Vishnudas, who is also the director of Hume centre for ecology and wildlife biology, said.
Former District Collector Kesavendrakumar and Sub Collector Sambasiva Rao had taken special efforts to declare the heronry as a bird reserve to conserve the avian population nearly four years ago but the Panamaram grama panchayat was yet to pass a resolution necessary to declare the area as a bird reserve.
Night patrolling to stop sand mining in the area and stringent measures against filling of wetlands were the need of the hour to conserve the unique birds’ habitat, he added.
