Flock of birds visits Point Calimere, Vaduvur for enriched feed

Both these spots, which are referred to as ‘energy house’ for birds, are currently bustling with activity as the winged visitors from various countries and bird watchers are busy visiting the place.

The ‘Bird Ringing’ process to track the movement and behaviour of the avian visitors has already picked up though the peak season is yet to commence. Ornithologists and bird watchers are making a beeline to these places to track the visitors. The arrival of flocks of birds is a clear indication that the southwest monsoon has showered a necessitating downpour in this region, resulting in the season being prolific this year. 

When traced back, the use of the term Point Calimere appears to date back to the early 1500s, when Portuguese traders began commercial establishments in Nagapattinam. In 1554 they established a commercial centre here. Hence, it is believed that Calimere originates from the Portuguese language with the meaning, “calido”- warm and “mar”- sea, warm sea.

Until before 1892, the forests around Point Calimere were administered by the Revenue Department and temple trustees, who allowed local people to collect firewood, fish and minor forest products. Also in the same year, after the creation of Kodaikadu Reserve Forest with 14.75-square-kilometre (5.70 sq mi), the forest department began their works in the region.  

However, the region in the early 1900s, was used to breed small number of ponies and to cultivate a large amount of tobacco. The subjugation of the forest land between the period of 1911 and 1986 was under constant shift.  In 1911, the reserve forest was under the control of the Tiruchy-cum-Thanjavur Forest Division. In 1922, the reserve forest was put under the control of the Revenue Divisional Officer, Mannargudi, by the Governor of Madras. The current sanctuary land was included only in 1938, after Kodiakarai Extensions were added to form the present sanctuary. In 1950, control was shifted to Tiruchy Forest Division, in 1957 to the Thanjavur Division and in 1965 to the State Wildlife Officer in Chennai.

After a gap of nearly half a century, in 1962, Dr Salim Ali, the bird man of India, first identified the Point Calimere region as an area of high significance for the conservation of birds. Hence a sanctuary was created and placed under the control of the Thanjavur Forest Division in 1967. Later, the authority was transferred to the Wildlife Division in Nagapattinam, when it was created in 1986.

Point Calimere with its 22 sq km habitat and swampy lands is said to be an ‘energy house’ for the visiting bird species, according to ornithologists. The Point Calimere bird sanctuary plays a crucial role in facilitating the migratory water birds with substantial feed to sustain their long intercontinental journey that at times extends as much as 5,000 km. The availability of feed, including insects and small fishes across the swampy lands of the sanctuary, is reported to have increased drastically.

In the second week of September, more than 50,000 migratory water bird species, including terns, gulls, flamingos and particularly migratory ducks of five to six different breeds, were spotted by bird watchers in the interior habitat of Point Calimere. “We spotted around 1,500 flamingos, 600 pelicans and over 5,000 little stints this week,” forester Krishnamurthy from Nagapattinam told DT Next. He added that most of the migratory birds are from Russia, Siberia, Myanmar, China, Malaysia and the Arctic region.

Packiri, a forester looking after Point Calimere, told DT Next that thousands of migratory birds belonging to different species have already landed in the interiors of Point Calimere. The ratio of the avian visitors arriving from the Arctic regions of Russia, the Himalayan valley bound visitors to Australia and parts of Sri Lanka is high in number as the migratory birds are completely dependent on the feed available at Point Calimere.

The season will generally commence from September. The sanctuary will see the maximum number of birds between October and February. As many as 234 species will throng the Point Calimere bird sanctuary to prepare themselves to sustain the long voyage. After the plethora of awareness campaigns, both the spots have zero poaching rate, said a Forest Department official.

Added to this, there are nearly 35 resident species such as white-browed bulbul, brahminy kite, small green-billed malkoha, crow pheasant, rose-ringed parakeet, grey partridge, blue-tailed bee-eater, common iora and spotted and coloured doves that will be present during this season.

Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary is located at 316 acres of irrigation lake. The lake supplies water to over 10,000 acres of land in and around Tiruvarur district. The water inflow during monsoon has begun to attract birds, along with its fertile wetland that feeds the winged visitors. The Vaduvur sanctuary attracts more than 132 species migrating from Europe, North America and sometimes from regions of Russia. 

The lake provides a suitable environment for food, shelter and reproduction, said Arivoli, Tiruvarur District Forest Officer. The farmers in the region welcome the arrival of the migratory birds as the water becomes fertile once it’s enriched with the bird droppings. The birds that visit the lake every year include the open bill stork, cattle egret, little egret, pelicans, grey pelicans, darter, little cormorants, common coots, little tern, pond heron, night heron, painted stork, common kite and kingfisher. Meanwhile, the forest officer also spotted some otters in the Vaduvur lake. He anticipates more number of such animals in the coming days as the peak season is yet to commence.