Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Vedanthangal Birds Sanctuary opens today

— File Photo: S. R. Raghunathan

FEast for eyes: Open-bill storks are among the birds set to captivate bird watchers at the Vedanthangal Birds Sanctuary, which opens for visitors on Saturday.

CHENNAI: Vedanthangal Birds Sanctuary near Chengalpattu will be opened for visitors this migratory season on Saturday.

According to Wildlife authorities, at present about 10,000 birds of 10 different species have gathered at the sanctuary. White Ibis, Grey Pelicans, Darters, Cormorants, Open-bill storks and three types of egrets herons were some of the species that are colonising in the sanctuary.

A rough estimate by the Wildlife authorities showed that Grey Pelicans, White Ibis, Little Egrets and Night Herons each numbering about 1,000 have colonised the sanctuary. Open-bill storks, Grey Herons and Little Cormorants each totalling about 1,500 have settled at the sanctuary.

Glossy Ibis and Darters numbering 500 each were also found in the sanctuary, the authorities said.

Painted storks and spoon-bill storks, however, are yet to arrive at the sanctuary, they added.

More birds would have arrived at the sanctuary, had the level in the waterbodies nearby been better.

The water level at the Vedanthangal tank stood was only 40 per cent of its capacity. Just before the monsoon began, the authorities took up desilting of the feeding channels to the Vedanthangal tank. But as there was not much rain in the area, only a little quantity of rainwater had reached the tank, the officials said.

In the nearby Karikili tank, the level was even lesser than that of the Vedanthangal tank.

As result, it had attracted only a smaller number of migratory duck species, whose number would not exceed 500, the authorities said. At Karikili the birds could be sighted only during evening hours, the authorities added.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu