Birdwatchers delight: Red duck makes a rare visit to Pallikaranai
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CHENNAI: Pallikaranai marshland
in south Chennai has become a birdwatchers' delight. After spotting a
white stork, a rare species flown in from Europe to Perumbakkam wetland
in a southern suburb off Old Mahabalipuram Road, ornithologists are now jumping with joy on seeing a flock of ruddy shelduck, a migratory species from Central Asia.
The winged visitors have been staying here for close to a week now, unlike last year when two ducks were spotted, but vanished in a day or two. Ruddy shelduck is a distinctive species with a wingspan of about 135cm. Called 'senthalai vaathu' in Tamil, the bird is a winter visitor. It is a large orange-brown duck with paler head and neck, sometimes a faint black colour at its base. Wings are white, black and a glistering green; they have black tails.
"I am thrilled to see the rare migratory bird at such close quarters. It is a chance that it has been staying for more than five days now," said Balaji Navaneethasundaram, a wildlife photographer. The female duck looks more or less like the male, but lacks the black collar and is much paler (almost whitish) head. In winter, it is seen throughout north India, but very rarely seen in the extreme south of the peninsula. According to ornithologists, the bird grazes like a goose than a duck on water edges, and are mostly spotted in the high altitude of Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir and Tibet.
Spotting rare species has only strengthened the pleas of environmentalists to preserve the rich biodiversity of Pallikaranai. "The presence of birds is indicative of the fact that the site needs protection from assault, including that of garbage," said Nature Trust founder K V R K Thirunaranan. The present season has brought in hundreds of northern pintail, which is not sighted even in the Vedanthangal sanctuary or Pulicat. Also visiting were northern shoveller, pied avocet, garganey, common teal, black-tailed godwit, grey-headed lapwing, little stint, ruff, wood sandpiper, common sandpiper, marsh harrier and osprey.
The Kancheepuram district administration last year declared the 131.55ha land abutting the Velachery Main Road-Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram Radial Road as a protected area for wetland conservation. So far, 618.95ha of Pallikaranai marshaland have been declared as reserved forest. "The city's one and only swamp should be conserved for future generations to learn about the ecologically sensitive habitat," Thirunaranan said.
The winged visitors have been staying here for close to a week now, unlike last year when two ducks were spotted, but vanished in a day or two. Ruddy shelduck is a distinctive species with a wingspan of about 135cm. Called 'senthalai vaathu' in Tamil, the bird is a winter visitor. It is a large orange-brown duck with paler head and neck, sometimes a faint black colour at its base. Wings are white, black and a glistering green; they have black tails.
"I am thrilled to see the rare migratory bird at such close quarters. It is a chance that it has been staying for more than five days now," said Balaji Navaneethasundaram, a wildlife photographer. The female duck looks more or less like the male, but lacks the black collar and is much paler (almost whitish) head. In winter, it is seen throughout north India, but very rarely seen in the extreme south of the peninsula. According to ornithologists, the bird grazes like a goose than a duck on water edges, and are mostly spotted in the high altitude of Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir and Tibet.
Spotting rare species has only strengthened the pleas of environmentalists to preserve the rich biodiversity of Pallikaranai. "The presence of birds is indicative of the fact that the site needs protection from assault, including that of garbage," said Nature Trust founder K V R K Thirunaranan. The present season has brought in hundreds of northern pintail, which is not sighted even in the Vedanthangal sanctuary or Pulicat. Also visiting were northern shoveller, pied avocet, garganey, common teal, black-tailed godwit, grey-headed lapwing, little stint, ruff, wood sandpiper, common sandpiper, marsh harrier and osprey.
The Kancheepuram district administration last year declared the 131.55ha land abutting the Velachery Main Road-Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram Radial Road as a protected area for wetland conservation. So far, 618.95ha of Pallikaranai marshaland have been declared as reserved forest. "The city's one and only swamp should be conserved for future generations to learn about the ecologically sensitive habitat," Thirunaranan said.
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