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Winged visitors are here

A village that shelters a variety of birds

HOMECOMING OF SORTS The birds find a safe nesting ground in Kokkre Belluroo

Our well-travelled driver in Bengaluru didn't know where Kokkra Belluroo was. "Beyond Mandya," I said tentatively. "About 80 km." He nodded. "Will take three hours." It does, because he chooses to go across the city's congested traffic and construction frenzy. We soon hit the highway to Mysore. Mandya comes and goes, but no "sign" of our village. We overshoot, drive back and make a note of the Rudhrakshipuram bus stand. The left turn is bang opposite.

"Kokkra Belluroo?" we ask. "That way," the villagers point, all through the 12 km of pot-holed path to the interior. The bumpy track breaks through corn, paddy, coconut, a couple of villages, sheep and elephant grass. Pass the tomato patches, turn left at the village entrance. There is a sign proclaiming its speciality. Two minutes down and you hear the calls. Shrill, raw and throaty from the colonies of birds on every single peepul, tamarind and Portia tree on either side of the road. Flocks of large birds flail their wings, clatter their beaks, fly past and crowd around the houses. And so close to us.

Painted storks

With as many as 20 nests in each tree, the air is filled with activity.

You see painted storks and spot-billed pelicans. Gorgeous in their breeding plumage. And busy. Gliding into the distance and coming back with large fish dangling from the beak. You hear their cackle and under every tree and rooftop you white-spot their presence. The stench hangs in the air. Arriving around December, they pluck branches off eucalyptus trees for a fresh bed on their old nests, lay their eggs in February, hatch their fledglings in March, teach them to flap their wings and as temperatures rise, fly off to where they came from.

Why here? There are large trees everywhere. The thinner trees provide soft twigs. There is the shallow Shimsa river with its schools of fish. The 500-acre bunded Thayilur lake. Most of all, the villagers who welcome their winged guests with love. The birds feel safe here.

"Their cries get really loud," said Nagaraj. "It's a problem if you have an infant. But we don't mind." Gowramma smiled. "We teach the children to be quiet. These are our daughters coming home for delivery. The eggs won't hatch well if there's noise." For how long have they been coming here? "Maybe 400 years," said a village elder at the teashop. The trees are right in the backyards. Don't chicks fall off sometimes? "Yes, every year we have at least one accident," said Dwarka Kumar, a student. "We feed them, treat their injuries and help them fly."

The village awaits their homecoming. It means there is plenty of water and fish, the lake is brimming. The droppings are rich phosphate, natural manure for crops. It also means there will be tourists with their cameras, which in turn means brisk business for the teashop, for tender coconut sellers, for "instant guides". But beyond all this is genuine love, even reverence, for the annual visitors.

At the river, you see more birds. Egrets and paddy birds nest on the islands, the shallow waters providing a rich variety of food. The larger guests swoop down for a drink, a quick bath and a straying fish. It is an indescribable feeling to see them fly around fearlessly, to watch them wading close to you. A true bird sanctuary.

Jayprakash, OA at the Mandya District Commissioner's office, said, "We don't know where they come from, but it's a 500-year history. The large trees have been declared protected under the Karnataka Tree Protection Act. Villagers who have trees in their yards have been paid cash so ensure they don't cut down the trees. There's a drive to plant more trees."

In a good monsoon year, more than 3,000 storks and pelicans seek Kokkre Belluroo's ambience to raise families. Reason why something should be done about sand quarrying in the river. If Shimsa goes deep, these large birds won't come to breed. The pelicans are already on the endangered list. "KTDC is planning to develop it into a resort with a proper road," said Jayprakash. A resort? Noisy SUVs, loud music, plastic litter, all-night parties? We'll hope this one project never leaves the drawing board.

GEETA PADMANABHAN

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