The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Melaselvanoor sanctuary welcomes winged visitors

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 18, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Melaselvanoor sanctuary welcomes winged visitors

C. Jaishankar

4,000 birds have landed in sanctuary this year

A PREFERRED DESTINATION: Birds at the Melaselvanoor sanctuary in Ramanathapuram District.

RAMANATHAPURAM: : Melaselvanoor may be a tiny little-known village along the Ramanathapuram-Sayalkudi road, about 40 km from here, but it is one of the most sought-after destinations by winged visitors.

The 321.48-hectares Melaselvanoor tank, attracts huge congregations of migratory birds, including spoon bills, spot-billed pelicans, painted storks, grey herons, white ibis, open billed stork, darters, cormorants and local water birds. It is identified as one of the best heronries in the State. The wildlife wing of the State Forest department notified Melaselvanoor a bird sanctuary.

The migratory birds arrive here immediately after the onset of the northeast monsoon in October and stay on till March-April, which is their breeding season. In this game of survival of the fittest, only the tough survive till the end of the season. A recent survey by the wildlife wing has showed that more than 4,000 migratory birds have arrived at the sanctuary this year, thanks to the copious monsoon and the conducive climate.

"One striking observation is that local birds like egrets, herons and cormorants are pushed to one corner of the tank by these `guest' (migratory) birds. The teeming population of huge birds like pelicans, painted storks, out numbers them.

The Melaselvanoor tank and the adjoining Keelaselvanoor tank seem to be the first priority for these birds, owing to abundant feed and undisturbed environment," says S. Ramasubramanian, eco-development officer, Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust, Ramanathapuram.

" The villagers are enthusiastic about protecting this unique habitat. They have observed that the birds come and survey this tank, if water was inadequate, they would then search for other nearby tanks," he said.

Wildlife Warden of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park V. Naganathan says, "there seems to be a hierarchy in occupying the trees by these birds. We can see distinct groups of open billed storks, painted storks, spot billed pelicans occupying different areas in the tank. The pelicans and painted storks occupy the babul trees. In the medium-sized trees, darters, spoonbills, open billed stork and white ibis occupy the canopy. Cormorants, egrets and pond herons occupy the lower strata. Few raptors like `brahminy kite' and marsh can be spotted, a healthy sign of the equilibrium of the ecosystem."

The entire ground is littered with droppings and eggshells, which will enrich the soil. Though the sanctuary is little known to the outside world, it receives a good number of bird watchers.

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