The drought-prone district, which provides many nesting habitats for birds, thanks to the large number of ‘kanmois’ (water bodies), witnesses a fall in arrival of both water and terrestrial birds this season as there is no water in three main bird sanctuaries.
The Forest Department, which has launched the annual two-day synchronised bird census on Friday, was disappointed as the rain-fed Kanjirankulam, Chitrangudi and Melaselvanoor-Keelaselvanoor sanctuaries, the most sought after destinations for the winged visitors have gone dry and wore a deserted look.
Though several parts of the district received good rainfall in the recent northeast monsoon, there was less rains in Mudukulathur, Sayalkudi and Kadaladi areas, where the three sanctuaries were located. The sanctuaries were the most preferred destinations for more than 100 species of water and terrestrial birds, sources in the Forest Department said. The Kanjirankulam and Melaselvanoor-Keelaselvanoor sanctuaries offered an ideal habitat for winter migratory birds, they said.
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The sanctuaries were also the preferred nesting sites for heronry species and colonial birds migrating to south India but they have gone dry this year. The bird census teams, comprising forest officials and school and college students, visited the sanctuaries and returned empty-handed.
However, the teams were elated on sighting good bird population in the Thethangal and Sakkaraikottai tanks, which were declared as bird sanctuaries in 2012, and other peripheral water bodies in the district.
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The Forest Department which had made nesting, breeding and roosting facilities by building mounds and planting saplings helped in attracting more birds to Sakkarakottai ‘kanmoi’ this season, Deepak S.Bilgi, Wildlife Warden, Gulf of Mannar National Park, said. “The sanctuary is likely to attract more terrestrial and migratory birds in the coming months as the water will become shallow,” he told The Hindu . This season’s size of the bird population would be estimated in a couple of days, he added. He said the department had counted more than 6,000 flamingos at Kothandaramar Temple in Dhanushkodi in the first week of January. As it was a moving population, the number had come down to about 2,500 now, Mr. Belgi said. The birds would stay as long as the shallow water remains, he added.
The synchronised census of bird population was launched on the orders of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Chennai. The census was taken by batches of forest officials and students led by Forest Range Officer S. Ganesalingam.