With north Tamil Nadu facing deficit in seasonal rainfall and Cyclone Gaja devastating the Delta region, the bird migration in several pockets of the state is affected this season.
Egrets spotted at a wetland in Kancheepuram district
Chennai:
Gaja has also left devastating effect on a few other adjoining bird sanctuaries including the Vaduvoor bird sanctuary in Thiruvarur and the Udayamarthandapuram sanctuary near Nagapattinam. There were also visible damages to the mangrove forest in Muthupet which certainly will influence gulls and kingfishers predominantly found along the mangroves, Kumaraguru said.
“The season in Vedanthangal is not encouraging due to inadequate rainfall and by this time, large number of pelicans and migratory duck species including pintail and shovelers should have thronged. However, a very few of them have visited the sanctuary and are not roosting,” said a Forest department bird tracker.
“The monsoon was delayed this year and we are hoping for a fresh spell of rain. If the water table gets raised further, the sanctuary will bounce back by Pongal,” said city wildlife warden C H Padma. Migratory birds including painted storks and migratory duck varieties will start arriving and the pre-monsoon desilting works have helped, despite poor rainfall. The sanctuary is now open for public and the footfall usually rises during the December holidays, the warden added.
Residents of Vedanthangal do not burst crackers during Diwali to avoid disturbing the migratory birds. But this November, the villagers celebrated the festival after 20 years, Gauthaman noted. However, the paddy fields were brimming with egrets and predatory birds, bringing respite, the bird watcher said adding that if there were rains for the next two weeks, the migration will get extended attracting birds to Vedanthangal.
However, birders tracking migration of birds in Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Nilgiris districts are witnessing a regular season. The rainfall in the western districts of Tamil Nadu and in all the tiger reserves were encouraging. Painted storks, spot-billed ducks and ibis movements were encouraging, Kumaraguru noted.
Historical Vedanthangal in Kancheepuram and ecological Point Calimere in Nagapattinam has attracted less number of migratory birds, disappointing the bird watchers, this December.
“Point Calimere in Vedaranyam has been badly hit due to Cyclone Gaja and there are no signs of nesting birds this season,” said conservation scientist A Kumaraguru of Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, who has compiled a report for the State Forest department ascertaining the ecological damage the cyclone has left.
Gaja has also left devastating effect on a few other adjoining bird sanctuaries including the Vaduvoor bird sanctuary in Thiruvarur and the Udayamarthandapuram sanctuary near Nagapattinam. There were also visible damages to the mangrove forest in Muthupet which certainly will influence gulls and kingfishers predominantly found along the mangroves, Kumaraguru said.
“The season in Vedanthangal is not encouraging due to inadequate rainfall and by this time, large number of pelicans and migratory duck species including pintail and shovelers should have thronged. However, a very few of them have visited the sanctuary and are not roosting,” said a Forest department bird tracker.
“The monsoon was delayed this year and we are hoping for a fresh spell of rain. If the water table gets raised further, the sanctuary will bounce back by Pongal,” said city wildlife warden C H Padma. Migratory birds including painted storks and migratory duck varieties will start arriving and the pre-monsoon desilting works have helped, despite poor rainfall. The sanctuary is now open for public and the footfall usually rises during the December holidays, the warden added.
Residents of Vedanthangal do not burst crackers during Diwali to avoid disturbing the migratory birds. But this November, the villagers celebrated the festival after 20 years, Gauthaman noted. However, the paddy fields were brimming with egrets and predatory birds, bringing respite, the bird watcher said adding that if there were rains for the next two weeks, the migration will get extended attracting birds to Vedanthangal.
However, birders tracking migration of birds in Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Nilgiris districts are witnessing a regular season. The rainfall in the western districts of Tamil Nadu and in all the tiger reserves were encouraging. Painted storks, spot-billed ducks and ibis movements were encouraging, Kumaraguru noted.
Artificial farms will degrade wetlands: HC
Wildlife enthusiasts and bird lovers are enthralled over a recent Madras High Court order which had ruled that the setting up of artificial shrimp aquaculture farms on the boundaries of waterbodies and wetlands will have adverse ecological impact degrading the existing marine biodiversity.
Justices M M Sundresh and Krishnan Ramasamy passed the ruling in a case where the State Forest and the Fisheries departments were at loggerheads over permitting a 1.39-acre shrimp farm on the boundary of the Kazhuveli wetlands spread over 74 sq kms in Tindivanam Taluk of Villupram.
After hearing both the sides, the bench accepted Forest department’s submission that the wetland hosted a congregation of 40,000 migratory birds every year. The court ruled in favour of the foresters pleading for the protection of the wetlands, who argued that the natural shrimp farms formed in Thailand could not be equated with artificial farms formed in Tamil Nadu with commercial interests.
Accepting the Forest department’s submission, the bench ruled that the drawal as well as discharge of waste water into the Kazhuveli would certainly affect the mangroves. Over 3 acres of the petitioner’s land was right on the banks of the Kazhuveli and creation of bunds would prevent natural flow of water into the wetland and then also pave way for flooding on the other sides.
The court had also empowered the Forest department to take concrete decisions during the district level committee meetings held to discuss and permit the shrimp farms.
“Wetlands and migratory birds are facing biotic pressure from different aspects. Urbanisation, conversion of wetlands for development works, setting up of artificial shrimp farms have been a burning issue chocking bird migration and now this court order against the hazardous shrimp farms will help to protect the wetlands and its birds,” opined K V R K Thirunaranan, founder, The Nature Trust.
This order is big boost for the Kazhuvelli wetlands that attract a large number of wading and duck variety birds.