“Our last birding trip was to Valparai and Kodaikanal,” says A Varsha, a first year student of Zoology, Lady Doak College. “And this year, when it was announced that we were being taken to Ramanathapuram, none of us were happy about it. We wondered how we would find beautiful birds in a dry region. But the moment we entered Parthibanur, we sighted a lone sandpiper near a rivulet. In the next 20 minutes, we counted nearly 40 species of birds. We were all taken aback.”
Eight students from the college, along with city-based birder N Raveendran of Iragukal, and Priyadarshini Rajendran, Associate Professor of Zoology, undertook a massive bird count in the Ramanathapuram district as part of the annual Pongal Bird Count. “Often condemned as a coastal desert, the region doesn’t get the attention it deserves,” says Raveendran, who has been birding in the region for the past five years. “I usually do the count at bird sanctuaries and hotspots, but this year, we did a random count every half an hour. And we have recorded 125 species and mapped 25 locations as birding pockets.”
The group of birders
“The arid landscape is also a suitable habitat for some species. For instance, birds like spotted and collared doves, thicknee, skylark and common birds like drongo, prefer nesting in the karuvelam thickets,” he points out. “As the bushy trees are a haven for snakes, monitor lizards and even pangolins, the population of raptors or hunting birds such as eagles is also quite good.”
Inland birds
Right from Parthibanur, Pasumpon, Kamudhi, Mudukulathor, Sayalkudi and Vembar to Valinokkam, Arichalmunai and Karangad mangrove forest along the East Coast Road, the group covered both inland and the coastal belt. The district has five bird sanctuaries — Melaselvanur, Keezhaselvanur, Chitrangudi, Kanjirakulam, Sakkarakottai and Therthangal, all of which have big freshwater tanks to support birdlife. “But, only Therthangal and Melaselvanur have decent water levels and hence a good bird population. The rest of the tanks are dry as the main feed channels from the Gundar river have been encroached upon,” says Raveendran.
Booted eagle in flight
“To create awareness among the people residing inside sanctuaries, we have formed eco-development committees involving the locals. If we succeed in bringing water to the tanks round the year, we hope to develop tourism in the pockets,” says S Sathish, Forest Range Officer, Ramanathapuram. “Apart from the annual census, these counting initiatives in between help us take stock of the situation and we get to know the population, nesting patterns and whether the habitat is healthy.”
Gulf of Mannar
However, it’s the Gulf of Mannar that takes the cake when it comes to the sheer variety and number of birds, says Raveendran. “We sighted a wide number of waders and shore birds such as plovers, Eurasian curlew, wimbrel, terns and fulls. The marine biosphere reserve is surely a rich hotspot for congregation of coastal birds other than places like Gujarat and Odisha.”
Brahminy kite juvenile
Valinokkam and Dhanushkodi are pockets for spotting the greater flamingos while Karangad is a great place for sighting terns and gulls next only to Kodiakarai. “We saw more than 3,000 birds in these places,” says G Darshini, a third year student. “Pied kingfisher, cisticola, Caspian tern, whiskered tern, crested tern and Eurasian curlew are some of the birds I saw for the first time.”
“This year, we also sighted an unusually large number of egrets. Good rain this time around has helped recharge shallow ponds, making it perfect for the birds to wade through and fish around easily,” observes Raveendran. “Apart from regulars such as painted stork, pelicans and open bill storks, I also sighted spoonbill for the first time here. It’s difficult to sight their nest as spoonbills build it amidst the thorny bushes of the karuvelam tree.”
Spoonbill
Says Priyadarshini, “It was eye-opening to know that Ramanathapuram harbours a rich and varied birdlife. The students spent their Pongal pocket money for the trip instead of spending it on movies, which is appreciable. We hope to conduct a ‘paravai Pongal’, every year making it fruitful for students.”
The group also counted black winged stilts, grey and pond herons, booted eagles, juvenile Brahminy kites and reef egrets.
