The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Spot-billed pelicans make a beeline for Pallikaranai marsh

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007
ePaper


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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Spot-billed pelicans make a beeline for Pallikaranai marsh

P. Oppili

There is no record of sighting pelicans here for last 15 years, say naturalists

— Photo: Shaju John

A PYLON FULL OF WINGED VISITORS: Spot-billed pelicans seen on a high-tension cable pylon at the Pallikaranai marsh on Monday.

CHENNAI: Visitors to the Pallikaranai marshland are surprised to sight a good number of spot-billed pelicans frequenting the place. Naturalists, who have been visiting the marsh in the last 15 years, say that there is no record of sighting pelicans at the Pallikaranai marsh. This is the first season that a sizeable number of pelicans have been sighted here, they say.

A rough estimate by the naturalists reveal that nearly 200 spot-billed pelicans have migrated to the marshland to feed in the waters over the past month. Many of these birds have made a perch of the pylon of the high-tension cable in the area.

Chick-rearing

V. Kannan, Senior Researcher from Bombay Natural History Society, says pelicans used to visit marshes during chick-rearing stage. In his observation, the pelicans go foraging as far as 75 to 100 km from their breeding site.

The pelicans are wanderers and wherever they find a suitable site, they will make it their temporary home. As far as Pallikaranai is concerned, it could be a secondary wetland used by the spot-billed pelicans, he observes. Pelicans are a threatened species and in 1980s their population in India was estimated to be around 1,500. The situation started changing and in the last six years their population in the wild has increased considerably, he says adding that in South India their population ranges between 2,850 and 3,700. T Murugavel, Coordinator, Projects, Environment Monitoring and Action Initiating says,"Though we are happy to see the pelicans at Palikaranai, it makes the naturalists feel sad for them as they have to fish in polluted waters. A proper study has to be taken up to assess the impact of pollutants on these birds, which migrate during breeding season. The birds are bio-indicators."

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