The Hindu : Kerala News : Mystifying patterns of avian migration

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 04, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala

Mystifying patterns of avian migration

The migratory season of birds in Kerala is hardly three months away. But nothing remains here, it seems, to draw the flocks to the State.

Migratory birds abandoned the Mangalavanam bird sanctuary long back. There are apprehensions that the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is also heading in the same direction.

The poor season that this tropical bird sanctuary had last year is an indication of the trend. Birds did not avoid the sanctuary completely last year; a few did turn up — as if lured by the memories of the earlier seasons.

When the avian visitors ignored the Mangalavanam bird sanctuary and headed to West Kochi to perch on the branches of huge trees located in residential plots at Pandikudy and Thoppumpady, bird enthusiasts tried to find consolation in the fact that at least the birds were coming to Kochi though not exactly to Mangalavanam.

But to the surprise and shock of the friends of birds in Kochi, the migratory birds also abandoned the residential plot at Pandikudy this year.

“The birds used to come and nest in the compound adjacent to my clinic from January. They stayed till May end and left the place before the onset of the monsoon,” said Dr. H. Ravikumar Kamath, who runs a homoeopathy clinic.

The plot adjoining the clinic resembled a bird sanctuary with the air filled with the chirping of birds and the stench of the droppings.

Many residents of the area were bemused by the unwelcome guests.

The bird droppings and its stench forced them to stay indoors.

Yet, these winged presences brought in many hundreds of visitors, including scientists and students, to the West Kochi area. Many came out of curiosity.

Even with the next migratory season a wing’s flap away, Mangalavanam is yet to have a management plan in place.

Those associated with the project assure that one would be ready before the beginning of the next season though it has been well over a year since attempts for its preparation started.

But the question remains whether the birds will wait for all the paperwork to be done.

K.S. Sudhi

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