More migratory birds flock to Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary

Dwindling of mud ponds in the Pulicat and low levels of water at the Point Calimere (in Tamil Nadu) are driving more and more migratory birds to Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary every year. Between September and March, the mangrove turned into an abode for 89,000 birds including the native species and winged visitors.

Kakinada home for

120 bird species

For the record, Coringa is the second largest surviving stretch of mangrove forests in India after Sundarbans of West Bengal. Coringa near Kakinada is home for 24 mangrove tree species and over 120 bird species, according to an estimate.

The reports of the annual survey conducted by the East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem (EGREE) Foundation and the Asian Water Bird Census indicated that there are 266 bird species in the Coringa mangrove, including 94 species of migratory birds.

“We have found that 19 bird species here are on the verge of extinction. But, an increase in the flock of Waders and Darters here is a reason to cheer,” says P. Sathiya Selvam, conservation biologist of the EGREE Foundation.

Waders are the smallest birds weighting from 17 grams to 450 grams, while the Darters prefer to go for nesting in the mangroves here. “Along with Coringa, the birds find an abode at Hope Island, beach area and the mud ponds located near the beach. Winged visitors are coming from the Arctic region, Russia, China and Mangolia,” observes Dr. Selvam.

All the migratory birds use the Central Asian Fly Way, considered to be the shortest fly zone, to search mud ponds that can provide them the feed. The bird census was conducted in 10 different parts in and around Coringa and the data analysed in a scientific manner.

“After Kolleru and Pulicat, Coringa is the third place that attracts more and more migratory birds every year. The steady increase in the native as well as the migratory bird population every year is indicating the need for acknowledging Coringa as Ramsar site,” points out Dr. Selvam. The foundation has sent the reports of the birds’ census to the Ministry of Environment and Forest and sought its intervention to include Coringa in the list of Ramsar sites.

The sad part of the census output, however, is that the vultures got extinct in the Coringa region. The vulture is last seen here in 1996 and since then the scavenging bird is not traced in the vicinity.