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Kadalundi-Vallikunnu community reserve rich in flora, fauna

by R. Madhavan Nair
THE HINDU
Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007

Kozhikode: The decision to declare the Kadalundi-Vallikunnu estuary area a community reserve comes as a happy climax to efforts by nature lovers, academics and bird-watchers to get official recognition and protection for a favourite haunt of migratory birds.

When Forests Minister Benoy Viswom makes the declaration on Thursday, 60 hectares of the estuary area will become a special zone, an ecosystem, with its flora and fauna and heritage structures, that will be protected with people’s participation.

The importance of the estuary as a wintering ground for migratory wading birds has been highlighted since the early 1980s when bird-watchers started visiting the area from September to April every year.

During low tide, the inter-tidal area there is populated by plovers, sandpipers, terns and gulls and a variety of resident birds.

Members of the Kerala Natural History Society Kozhikode chapter visit the estuary frequently and to their delight, have come across birds hitherto unrecorded in Kerala. For instance, sandwich terns (Sterna sandvicensis), rare elsewhere in the country, have been found in good numbers.

P.K. Uthaman and L. Namasivayam were among the early bird-watchers to highlight the importance of Kadalundi. They prepared a provisional checklist of birds and appealed for the establishment of a bird sanctuary.

The first detailed attempt at understanding the birdlife at the estuary was when Deepakumar N. Kurup of the Forest Department took up a two-year ecological study of the birds there while doing his Ph.D.

Several articles on the birds of Kadalundi came in newspapers. A few committees were formed locally, notably the one headed by the then president of Vallikunnu panchayat, U. Kalanathan, which voiced the cause of Kadalundi as a bird reserve.

Dr. Kurup monitored the population of birds visiting the estuary during the winters of 1987-88 and 1988-89 and showed the preferences of birds for the various habitats in the estuary — tidal marsh, retting ground, river bank and tidal mudflat and also their feeding ecology.

Studies have showed that the estuary supported a rich avifauna, with 108 species recorded. Thirty species of shorebirds and twelve of seabirds have been observed. The migrant-resident ratio is 5:2. The winter passage of birds at Kadalundi begins at August-end or the beginning of September and coincides with the waning of the southwest monsoon. Bird populations decrease from April.

Species such as the grey plover, Terek sandpiper, bar-tailed godwit, black-tailed godwit, Temminck’s stint, dunlin, sanderling, eastern knot, crab plover, sandwich tern, masked booby and barheaded goose observed at Kadalundi are either new additions to the Kerala bird list or those recorded sparingly. Though a few species show signs of over-wintering, the entire estuary remain inundated during the monsoon and practically few birds are found from June to August.

Several biotic interferences are prevalent in the estuary, notably fishing, collection of oysters and mussels, defoliation of tidal marsh, mining of sand and lime and retting of coconut husk.

The estuary is under the ownership of Kadalundi and Vallikkunnu panchayats and the inter-tidal area used to be periodically leased out by them for retting and defoliation.

Dates announced for first Pakshi Dinam

Dear all,

We are continuing with the preparations for the Kerala bird day (pakshi dinam) scheduled for Nov 11th 2007 - we shall be in a position to announce further details in a week's time. I once again remind you all to block your calenders for Nov 11th for the big event.

Best rgds
Praveen

Posted on Keralabirder (yahoo group)

Birding Locations around a City: Palakkad

1. Site: Banks of Malampuzha Main Canal
Note: The left bank canal from Malampuzha passes close to the Palakkad
town on the eastern periphery through Kallepully, Manali, Kalmandapam areas
and has good array of paddy fields on both sides in most locations. The
habitats are more or less the same as seen in any of the villages in the
Chittur, Alathur and Palakkad Taluks of the district - mostly centred around
paddy fields. Hence, this note is just an indicator for all such village
habitats in the district.
How to Reach: One can start from Kalmandapam (2km from Sultanpet) near the
Calicut bypasss and travel upstream towards Kalepully or downstream
towards the NH-by pass. The latter stretch has better paddy fields and is
less disturbed.
Birds: Most of the common wetland birds, Common, Wood & Green
Sandpipers, Snipes, Wagtails, Kingfishers, Cormorants ovehead, Egrets,
Jacanas, Waterhens, Palm Swifts, Brown Shrikes, occassional Marsh
Harriers, rare Blackwinged Stilts, Bee-eaters, all four of the common
Kingfishers, occassional Common Grey Hornbills, Bayas, Munias, Pipits - a
rare Richard's, Bushlarks etc. Generally about 30-40 species on a trip.
Mode: Along the canal bund, mid-sized cars will be possible but an
equally sized vehicle on the opposite side will create problems. One can go
on two-wheelers, park the vehicles and go along the bunds of paddy fields.

2. Site: Malampuzha Garden/Foothills
Note: About 12km from Palakkad town, offers variety of habitats
including garden, dam, mango orchards, downstream river etc. Evenings and
holidays tend to be crowded.
How to reach: Drive on your vehicle or take a bus from Palakkad.
Birds: Chestnut & Black Bittern, Little Green Heron, Night Heron,
Darter, Egrets etc along the downstream river during mornings, House
Swifts, Spotbill Ducks & River Terns in the reservoirs, Pitta,
White-throated Ground Thrush, woodland birds like Small Minivets, Wood &
Cuckoo Shrikes, Crested Serpent, Changeable Hawk Eagles, Honey Buzzards
Rosy Pastors etc in the woodlands between Malampuzha bus stand and rock
garden. Other common birds in the garden. About 50-60 species on a trip.
Mode: Walk along the habitats while using motor vehicles on the road
to select locations with less crowd.

3. Site: Dhoni Foothills
Note: Nearest western ghat locality from Palakkad about 10km from the
town; further about 6km from Olavakkod Railway Colony. Part of a more
wide range of hills known as Palakkad Hills. Forests in higher
altitudes can be visited only on a full day trip and hence its
suggested that one keeps to low altitudes during paskhi dinam. Moist
deciduous forest and teak plantations are the main habitats.
How to reach: Drive in your vehicle until Dhoni forest checkpost or
take one of the very occassional buses uptil Dhoni or take the
frequent buses to Railway colony and use auto to travel the last 6km.
Birds: Most of the low altitude Ghat species like Fairy Bluebird,
Rubythroated & Yellowbrowed Bulbul, Besra, Bronzed & Racket-tailed
Drongo, a rare Rufousbellied Eagle or a Three-toed Kingfisher, Malabar
Trogon, common forest raptors like Serpent Eagle, Crested Hawk Eagle
and Honey Buzzard, Scarlet Minivets, Velvetfronted Nuthatch, Whistling
Thrush, Emerald Dove, wintering flycatchers, Malabar Grey Hornbills
etc. About 40-45 species on a trip.
Mode: By foot.
Permission: From Olavakkod Forest Range Officer

4. Site: Kawa
Note: Can be combined with Malampuzha trip, its further 6km from Rock
Garden to reach the eastern flank of the reservoir. Reservoir, open
meadows and degraded deciduous forests on the forest fringes.
How to Reach: Just one bus plies to Kawa from Palakkad. You will have to
use your own vehicle to drive down till Kawa. Fairly decent tar road
exists. About 50-60 species on a trip.
Birds: Good wetland birds like Pintails, Openbills, Spotbills,
Stints, Shanks & Sandpipers, River & Whiskered Terns, open meadow
species like Skylarks, pipits, yellow & white wagtails etc can be seen.
The forests near by is also good for woodland as well as Ghat species like
Large Green Barbet, Greenbilled Malkoha, Fairy Bluebird, Black Bulbul,
Rufous Babbler, Emerald Dove and a rare Great Pied Hornbill.
Mode: By foot in the reservoir beds and forest path. Drive till you see
a good point to go by foot.

5. Site: Walayar dam
Note: About 23km from Palakkad on the NH to Coimbatore. Exactly at the
state border. Reservoir, open meadows, scrubs and plantations.
How to Reach: Innumerable buses ply between Palakkad and Walayar. Get
down at last stop. Walk along the forest edges of the reservoir to reach
the vast meadows and water line of the dam.
Birds: Storks, Ducks, Stints, Shanks, Sandpipers, Plovers etc abound the
water body. Also look out for Larks, pipits, wagtails and
occassional quails & partridges. Forest edges are good for woodland
species and raptors. Overall a good area to get 80-90 species on a
single day.
Mode: By Foot

6. Site: Choolanur
Note: About 25km from Palakkad towards Naduvathapara-Thiruvilvamala in the
Palakkad-Thissur border. Open forest with small trees and scrubs.
How to Reach: Take any bus that goes to Thiruvillamala via
Naduvathappara and get down at Naduvathappara. While driving, you can
go via Kottayi-Peringottukurissi.
Birds: Most of the open woodland species are very easy to see here
because of the height of the trees. Indian Peafowl, Whitebrowed
Fantail, Cuckoos, Wood-Shrikes, Cuckoo Shrikes, Mahratta, Pigmy and
Streak-throated Woodpeckers, Small Minivets, Grey Partridges,
White-browed Bulbuls, Kestrel etc. About 50-60 species in a trip.
Mode: By Foot after parking the vehicle on the road side.

7. Site: Veezhumala
Note: About 27km from Palakkad, this lone hill can be visited either
from Kottayakulam or from Anakkampara. Open forest, rubber
plantations, scrubs and some grasslands at the top.
How to reach: Take a bus to Nemmara via Chittalanchery and get down at
Kottayakulam. Take a bus to Thrissur and get down at Anakkampara. From
these locations, one has to trek along to reach the hill top.
Birds: Very similar to Choolanur with birds like Peafowl, Whitebrowed
Fantail, Grey Partridge, Common Grey Hornbill, Black Eagle, Harriers etc.
About 50 species in a day.

All these were complied and written by "Praveen J"


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Initial deatils about Pakshi Dinam

HOW TO CONDUCT:
The Pakshi Dinam will be part of a larger all India Birdraces (which has already been conducted in several cities in the country) – since this is the first such event in Kerala, the competition part of the event can be much subdued in our case as we are hoping for more participation than twitching. A named team (e.g.The Spiderhunters!) of four people, each with at least bird watcher who can identify most of the common species, shall visit any area(s) in traveling distance from dawn-to-dusk and try to see as many species as possible. However, they have to assemble at the end of the day (6pm) to submit the results and participate in the concluding sessions. The forms can be collected later by the state coordinator and results published in popular media. Read more about the rules of the BirdRace on the official website of India Birdraces @ http://www.indiabirdraces.com

HOW TO ORGANISE:
Mumbai, Bengaloru and other big cities worked around the problem very easily, However, birding fraternity in Kerala is more decentralized. Hence, we would require multiple gatherings. So for 2007 since this is the first year we will have 3 official gatherings for the whole of Kerala. These gatherings will be in the cities are Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. We would require volunteers in each city to organize the event there. We hope to be able to cover more cities and districts in the coming years.


WHO WILL ORGANISE/SPONSER:
Organization of the event, needless to say, shall be the responsibility of us, the birders. We would require a good bunch of volunteers in the three cities to bring success. For funding and support, HSBC bank has agreed to sponsor Pakshi Dinam 2007. Of course, we would require some free hands to run the show while most of us would be in the field with our teams.

PUBLICITY:
The event should be announced shortly in some dailies, news-groups and news channels. If we can get some distinguished guest (like the Forest Minister) to preside over the concluding session at the state capital, then it would a good publicity for the subsequent year.

With this posting, We would like to know your views and gain support for organizing such a recurring event in Kerala for this year and the years to come. If we do it well, this might be the first of its kind event for the country when a whole state is participating in a birding event on a one single day.

Best rgds
Praveen

Slightly modified by Sahil from the original message posted on Keralabirder (yahoo group)