Wayanad a renowned wildlife
sanctuary of Kerala is famous for its rich flora and fauna. It is the prime
tourism attractions and the recent bird survey that was carried out in Wayanad
Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) has revealed the presence of 189 species of birds and
13 new bird species was also found in the region.
The survey was organized after
seven years, by the Forest and Wildlife Department in Wayanad Wildlife
Sanctuary, which is considered to be one of the bird rich habitats in the
entire Western Ghats.
“We recoded nearly 30 white
backed Vultures, four Red-headed Vultures, two long billed Vultures during the
survey in the sanctuary. C. Sasikumar and C.K. Vishnudas, ornithologists who
led the survey, told The Hindu on Sunday. These three species of vultures are
perilously endangered birds and the sight of the Long-billed Vulture was
recorded after 20 years” they said. In the Kurichyat Forest Range of the
sanctuary, breeding of the White backed Vulture was found. In the year 2007 two
red headed Vultures and 12 white backed Vultures were seen in the sanctuary.
But this year in the survey 13 new species of birds were seen, out of which
five species are of eagles while eight were wet land birds.
At Tholpetty, Lesser Grey headed
Fish Eagle was also seen, which was another new species, Mr. Vishnuda said.
During the survey, it was also
recorded 11 species of woodpeckers, 16 species of birds of prey, five species
of bulbuls, seven species of pigeons, six species of owls and seven species of
cuckoos.
In the three day survey, nearly 55 bird watchers from three
south Indian states and 55 forest personnel had participated. For the survey
work, 15 camps inside the forest ranges such as Muthanga, Kurichyat, Bathery
and Tholpetty was set up by the Forest and Wildlife Department under Wayanad
Wildlife Sanctuary.
Nearly 55 birdwatchers from three south Indian states and 55
forest personnel had participated in the three-day survey. The Forest and
Wildlife Department had set up 15 camps inside the four forest ranges such as
Muthanga, Kurichyat, Bathery, and Tholpetty under the WWS.
In this survey work various official from the forest
department assisted. Roy P. Thomas, wildlife warden, WWS, coordinated the
survey and Ajith K. Raman, A.K. Gopalan, P.P. Valsan, and V. Rajan, Forest
Range Officers, assisted to make this survey successful.
