Bird Sanctuaries
Bird sanctuaries are nature facilities that advocate the conservation of various species of birds and their natural habitats while promoting rehabilitation and survival.
List of Bird Sanctuaries of India
Atapaka Bird Sanctuary
- Atapaka Bird Sanctuary at Kolleru Lake is an important safe breeding ground for two migratory species namely, Grey Pelicans and Painted Storks.
- Grey Pelican and Painted Stork both are near-threatened species under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Kolleru lake is located between the deltas of the Krishna and Godavari rivers in Andhra Pradesh.
Nelapattu bird sanctuary
- Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh,
- It is an important breeding site for spot-billed pelicans.
- Spot-billed pelicans are a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes.
- It breeds only in peninsular India, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia.
- They are not migratory but are known to make local movements.
- They are colonial breeder, often breeding in the company of other waterbirds.
- It is categorized as “Near Threatened” in IUCN red list.
- Copious rain from the southwest and northeast monsoon led to the return of pelicans in the Nelapattu sanctuary.
Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary
- Pulicat Lake is the second-largest brackish water ecosystem in the country after Chilika Lake (Odisha).
- Pulicat Lake is located on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It lies majorly in Andhra Pradesh.
- The sanctuary is most noted for the many greater flamingos seen here.
- It also attracts many migratory birds and also is a feeding and nesting ground for aquatic and terrestrial birds such as pelicans, storks, etc.
- The large varieties of birds like grey pelicans, painted storks, visit the site annually.
- Grey Pelican and Painted Stork both are near-threatened species under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Nagi Bird Sanctuary
- Nagi Bird Sanctuary is located in Jhajha Jamui district of south Bihar, near the Jharkhand border.
- The Nagi Dam and Nakti Dam are two sanctuaries so close to each other that they can be taken as one bird area.
- The Nagi- Nakti Bird Sanctuaries have been the home of a wide variety of indigenous species of birds and of migratory birds that turn up during the winters from places like Eurasia, Central Asia, the Arctic Circle, Russia, and Northern China.
- Avian Fauna :
- Over 136 species of birds have been spotted at these sanctuaries.
- Bar-headed geese: Around 1,600 bar-headed geese, which is about 3% of the global population of this variety, have been seen here, as per a report of the Wetlands International, and because of this rare phenomenon, the Birdlife International, a global body, has held the Nagi Dam Bird Sanctuary to be globally important for the conservation of birds’ population and has declared it as an important bird area.
- Wetland International is a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of wetlands.
- BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organizations (NGOs) that strives to conserve birds, their habitats, and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.
- Other major birds: Indian Courser, Indian Sandgrouse, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, and Indian Robin.
- Major threats to the biodiversity of the sanctuaries: Agricultural runoff; Land dispute between Irrigation and Forest Departments; Leasing out of the site for fishing.
- Other Bird Sanctuaries of Bihar:
- Gautam Budha bird sanctuary, Gaya
- Kawar Jheel bird sanctuary, Bigusarai
- Kusheshwar asthan bird sanctuary, Darbhanga
Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary
- Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is an estuarine mangrove habitat, which is declared as the bird sanctuary, and located on the western tip of the Island of Chorão along the Mandovi River in Goa.
- The sanctuary is named after Salim Ali, the eminent Indian ornithologist.
Mayani Bird Sanctuary
- The Mayani Bird Sanctuary is globally reckoned for its gigantic range of species for migratory birds situated in the Satara district of Maharashtra.
- Many migratory birds pass through the area, such as Flamingos from Siberia come in large numbers.
- It is one of the most prominent and Famous Bird Sanctuaries in India.
Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary
- Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, consisting primarily of the lake and ambient marshes, is situated about 64 km to the west of Ahmedabad near Sanand Village, in Gujarat.
- Mainly inhabited by migratory birds in winter and spring, it is the largest wetland bird sanctuary in Gujarat, and one of the largest in India.
- Nalsarovar in Gujarat is a bird watcher’s paradise, one can find rosy pelicans, lesser and greater flamingos, crakes, brahminy ducks, purple moorhen, herons, white storks, various species of bitterns, grebes, etc in the lake.
Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary
- Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is also known as Vembanad Bird Sanctuary is situated in Kerala, near the famous Vembanad Lake.
- It offers a home to a large number of migratory birds like Flycatcher, Teal, Siberian Stork, Crane, Parrots, and Wood Beetle by riding a houseboat will be the best way for birdwatching in Kerala.
- Nehru Trophy Boat Race is a popular Vallam Kali (boat race) held in the Punnamada