Fly free
RAJIV AJJIBAL
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Egrets, white ibises, cormorants, herons and coots make their home in this thorny sanctuary...
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A taste of paradise...
SIRSI
Mundigekere near Badakoppa in Sirsi taluk is a bird sanctuary. Egrets and many other birds are nesting and breeding since July. Mundigekere has an area of five acres, which is surrounded by a thorny bush called Mundige (Kedige). This grows up to 15 to 20 feet in height and provides shelter for the birds.
Mundigekere is 19 kilometres from Sirsi town on the Sirsi - Hulekal - Sonda Road.
P.D.Sudarshan, a noted ornithologist of Uttara Kannada district first brought it to the attention of bird lovers. Egrets, white ibises, cormorants, herons and coots are found in Mundigekere.
The paddy fields and the vegetation in the surrounding areas provide food for the birds. By the end of September or in early October they leave the place with their young ones.
The ecosystem in Mundigekere and Badalkoppa area is rich in bio-diversity. The people are eco-friendly. They, like the people of Kokkare-bellur, think, these birds are God-sent and a sign of prosperity. However, there are also people who hunt the birds in the night. But many keep a strict watch over them.
One disadvantage is that the birds cannot be watched from close proximity. One has to climb a hill nearby to view them. This year, the people of Badalkoppa have expressed their gratitude to the forest department for appointing a guard to protect birds at Mundigekere as last year hundreds of birds were killed by miscreants here.
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