Chennai: Vedanthangal at its best

Chennai: If there is one place near the city which is happy with December floods, it must be Vedanthangal, housing the country’s oldest bird sanctuary.

The 74-acre sanctuary is brimming with life and sound of migratory birds which have landed there for nesting and breeding. For the last two years, poor monsoon played spoilsport for birds which could not nest and breed properly in the sanctuary.

“Copious rainfall in the sanctuary and water bodies in nearby areas this year has definitely wooed thousands of winged visitors this year.

This is not only the oldest sanctuary in the country but also the smallest one where 16 to 18 species of birds fly down almost every year for nesting.

We have more migratory ducks in adjacent Karikilli bird sanctuary,” says K.V.R.K. Thirunaranan, founder, The Nature Trust.

Not only for birds, the sanctuary is a haven for farmers.The water is used for farming and the green fields on the other side of sanctuary is testimony to nature’s bounty this season.

And so what is special this year? “The number of Spoonbills has gone up. We also have Painted storks,  Grey pelican, Glossy Ibis, Little cormorants and Small egrets and Night heron. There must be close to 25,000 birds now,” says Padavattan, a bird watcher and guide to visitors.