History
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary is the oldest bird sanctuary in India spread in an area of 74 acres and is the smallest in India. Vedanthangal in Tamil means \’hamlet of the hunter\’. It used to be the favorite hunting ground of rich landlords back in the early 1700s who hunted mainly for sport. Vedanthangal\’s wetlands of small lakes and water bodies rich in their unique ecosystem attracted a variety of birds and still do today. The then British Government took steps realizing the importance of Vedanthangal\’s ecological importance to develop it into a sanctuary for birds in 1798.
Local Community & Protection
The local community is also protecting this sanctuary for a very long time. They have been aware of the fact that the birds\’ droppings increase the level of nitrogen content in the water which is used to irrigate their crops, increasing the yield and reduce the use and cost of fertilizers.
Vedanthangal bird sanctuary is home to as many as 40,000 migratory birds, some of them are endangered species, flock to this small paradise every year to nest, feed, and breed. These include pintails, grey wagtails, blue-winged teals, spoonbills, and common sandpiper.
Climate
Vedanthangal is extremely hot and humid during the summer season when the temperature can reach a maximum of 40 degrees C or more. Winters meanwhile, are pleasant and mild. Monsoon arrives quite late and makes their presence known here from August to October and this season is best to avoid in Vedanthangal as it experiences heavy rain and is not the right time to sight birds.
Wildlife at Vedanthangal
One of the first migratory bird visitors in this sanctuary is the Open Billed Stork. Others are Asian open bill, great egrets, grey heron, egrets, spot-billed pelicans, great cormorants, painted storks, Eurasian spoonbills, black-headed ibis, Indian cormorant, and purple heron are seen in large numbers. Waterfowls include white ibis, night heron, darter, snakebird, pintails, pond herons, common teals, shoveller, dabchick, black-winged stilt, little stilt, redshank, sandpiper, ringed plover, curlew, babblers, parakeets, bee-eaters, barbets, cuckoos, and drongos.
With this variety of migratory and resident birds, one can also spot mammals like a jungle cat, wild boar, jackal, and black-naped here.
To reach Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary by road, you can take NH45 to Padalma via Chengalpattu, or the nearest airport is Pondicherry airport which 58 km from Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, or else you can take a train to Chengalpattu which is the nearest railway station from here.
