The Hindu : Kerala News : Vembanad not a haven for winged beauties

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 22, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Vembanad not a haven for winged beauties

By George Jacob

KOTTAYAM, JAN. 21. An interim report of the Vembanad Water Bird Count has shown disturbing trends in the number of migrant waterfowls in the Vembanad area. While the number of birds has registered a 16 per cent increase, this is mainly on account of the increase in the number of ducks and teals.

The population of other varieties have shown a drastic reduction — up to 75 per cent in some cases, pointing to the declining health of the delicate ecosystem, says B. Sreekumar, coordinator of the census.

Census

The number of birds counted during the census, held from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on January 16, has increased to 28,256 from the 24,326 last year.

However, this 16 per cent increase could be attributed to the ducks and teals which numbered 19,234 (17584 last year).

The census has also revealed that there has been a drastic reduction in the number of birds, excluding ducks and teals, in the lake area. The reduction is 25 per cent — from 6,742 in 2004 to 5,022 this year. The cormorant family has been reduced to just half of what its number was last year. From 2,449, it has come down to 1,313. Great cormorants have been reduced to fewer than 10, and Indian shags from 216 to 128.

Night herons

The population of herons and egrets have registered a 10 per cent decrease. However, the number of night herons has shown a healthy growth, Dr. Sreekumar says.

The tourist complex area lived up to its fame as the Land of Night Herons. The number of these birds rose from a mere eight last year to 53 today. At Pathiramanal too, their number remained stable.

Purple herons

The number of purple herons has also increased from 80 to 120, an increase of 50 per cent. Others which have contributed to the overall increase in bird population in the area are gulls and terns (seven-fold increase) and large egrets (10-fold increase).

The number of whiskered terns has increased from 330 last year to 4,515 this time.

Cause for concern

According to Dr. Sreekumar, the desertion of the lake area by the birds is a cause for concern. Also the Pathiramanal area was found to be a dumping ground for plastic waste, especially bottles.

The Kaipuzhamuttu area has also shown a reduction in bird population. Areas which contributed mainly to the increased overall population of birds were Kumarakom paddy fields, Narakathara area, Thollayiram Kayal, Pallathuruthy, Nedumudi and Poothappaandy Kayal areas.

Recommendations

The major recommendations of the interim report include protection of birds for roosting in uncultivated paddy fields, saving them from organised poachers, increased protection for the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation sanctuary as it has registered a healthy increase in the number of night herons and steps for averting an ecological disaster at Pathiramanal area.

The report has called for the creation of a `safe area' in the Vembanad Lake for roosting of migrant ducks. This calls for restrictions on movements of speedboats and dredging in the area.

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