Vedanthangal accords warm welcome to winged visitors

Vedanthangal accords warm welcome to winged visitors
APARNA NAIR

CHENNAI, NOV 26: When the world slept early this morning, Vedanthangal chirped with activity. Its new visitors were busy settling down after a long journey from their homes.

Birds. Some of them had come all the way from Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Canada and Northern Europe -- pin-tailed ducks, the open-billed stork, the white ibis, the grey bill, the spoon bill, pelicans. At least 23 species of birds have so far arrived at the serene lake sanctuary, where they will breed and spend the winter.

The migrants are 15,000-strong already, unlike before, when the maximum number of birds would just be around 2,000 around the same time. ``The water channels to the lake have been cleared and the monsoon has been properly harvested this year. This is why you find more birds,'' says Wildlife Warden for Chennai Division Ulaganathan.

With birds like the painted stork still expected, the number of birds visiting the sanctuary this time is expected to cross last year's figure of 35,000 by January, when the breeding season actually starts.

Vedanthangal is a perfect sanctuary and breeding ground for the birds. There are 2,000-odd trees to provide security and shelter for the yet-to-be-born. The 60-odd ponds have an ample supply of frogs, fishes and weeds for the migrants to feed on.

According to officials in the sanctuary, the ``process of migration works at Vedanthangal with clock-like precision is an enigma''. During the rainy season, the tanks get filled up and the birds begin to appear in small numbers initially. Usually, the first to arrive is the open-billed stork, that gets to lay eggs twice during its stay here.

How the birds get to this place is still a mystery. But it is believed that a few come and inspect the place when the season begins and then go back to get the rest of their flock.

Initiated into wildlife conservation much before the concept came into vogue, the people of Vedanthangal feel responsible for their winged guests who visit them from October to June every season. Their relationship with the birds is symbiotic. The liquid guamo that is formed on the tank due to bird-droppings is used by the villagers to fertilise their land.