Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary

Appeared in "Discover India"



Vedanthangal … A haven for bird watchers


Fact File
Getting there: 85 km from Chennai and 26 km from Chenglepet, the nearest railhead. Buses ply from Tambaram in Chennai to Vedanthangal on National Highway 45. From the highway, Vedanthangal is about 12 km to the right on motorable road. Travel time from Chennai is 1 – 1 ½ hours.

Best Time to Visit: October to March, although the birds start coming in from late September and stay on even through to May. Early mornings and late evening are the best times to watch the birds.

Accommodation:
With prior booking, accommodation is available at the Forest Department Rest House or Hotel Tamil Nadu of the TN Tourism Development Corporation.



In the wee hours of a Sunday morning, well before the giant orange could make his appearance on the horizon, we took off on a jaunt to Vedanthangal, a drive of roughly one hour on a traffic-free road, thanks to the hour and day on which we traveled. After a smooth 72 km drive on NH 45, we entered the bumpy village road leading to Vedanthangal, a small hamlet meaning place of the hunter, so named because it was a favourite hunting ground for the local landlords about 300 years ago.

Passing through large fields of melon and other vegetation, we finally arrived at our destination, the bird sanctuary, located on a small artificial lake dotted with a number of islets and believed to be the oldest in the country and also the biggest, next only to the bird sanctuary at Bharatpur in Uttar Pradesh. We were given a ‘flappy’ welcome by the winged visitors and their hosts who seemed to be engaged in some kind of acrobatic swoops and swims in their brightly coloured plummage.

We got on to the earthen bund running between the lake on the one side and the emerald green paddy fields on the other. The green trees dotting the lake looked more white than green, heavily laden as they were, with the avian creatures. This was the first thing that struck us when we entered the bund area - the sheer numbers of birds. Snowy white egrets kept taking off and gliding gracefully against the backdrop of a peach pink sky and cutting across them in flight were the painted storks or the grey herons. But in all honesty we must say that though we were able to identify quite a variety, we failed to capture all of them on our camera for we could just not keep pace with their flight! A swoop here, a skim there, they were just all over, resplendent in vibrant hues and in various sizes and shapes, gracefully coasting through space, manouvring a dive now and then, babbling and chirping in the process.

Of course, we observed a couple of tourists, professional photographers and bird watchers lie patiently in wait to accomplish this task – of getting the more lively shots than what we managed.

As we edged a few yards further, we realized to our disappointment that the birds kept their distance well away from the lake banks, flocked by the human species! However, we surmounted this problem by taking out our binoculars to enjoy some spectacular and memorable sights of the birds in action. We thrilled at watching the cacophonous group of pelicans lashing the waters with their sturdy wings to corner their prey, the fishes, before devouring them with gusto. In contrast to this vivacious action, we spotted the teals which waded in straight lines as if involved in some sort of a march past on the waters to a beat which they alone understood.

The sanctuary, it is claimed, houses roughly 2,000 trees including the barring tonia acutangula or the more popularly known Kadappa trees and acacia trees. The abundant bamboo, cane bushes, reeds and thorny trees on the bund add to the lush ambience of the lake area in addition to providing security and shelter for the soon-to-be-born younglings. A few tens of ponds surrounding the lake have an ample supply of food for the migrant and resident birds in the form of fishes, frogs and weeds.

The clocklike precision with which birds, almost 30,000 – 40,000, migrate towards Vedanthangal is undoubtedly enigmatic. Soon after the monsoons when the ponds and lakes are full, the feathered-beings commence their arrival at Vedanthangal, headed by the open-billed storks which are believed to lay eggs twice during their stay here. Spread across just 2 sq km or 72 acres of marshy land, the sanctuary boast of migrants from Australia, Siberia, Sri Lanka, Canada, Northern Europe, Pakistan and include the white ibis, pin tailed ducks, pelicans, spoon bills, grey heron, cormorants, teals, egrets, painted storks and a host of other species.

It is believed that much before present day conservationists stepped in to protect the sanctuary, the local villagers were obviously aware of the symbiotic relations between them and their winged visitors; hence zealously guarded them from hunters. The bird-droppings, for centuries have been providing the local cultivators with the finest of natural fertilizers and have also kept pests and rodents, commonly attacking the adjoining cultivation at bay. While the lake was first recognized as a sanctuary in 1936 under the British regime, it was in 1972 that it was officially declared a Wildlife Sanctuary under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Talking to a few villagers resident around the lake area, we gathered that they try to maintain a silent ambience to the extent possible and even keep festivities and marriages during the breeding season, a relatively quiet affair, to humour their avian friends and not frighten them away!

It was close to twilight when we decided to take leave from Vedanthangal and though we switched on our car stereo, it was the symphony of the birds that rang in our ears as we wend our way home.