Coimbatore : The recently rejuvenated Vellalore lake that received water during the recent monsoons has become one of the most sought after foraging and roosting sites for avian visitors as the recent water fowl census had fetched 75 individual species.
Coimbatore : The recently rejuvenated Vellalore lake that received water during the recent monsoons has become one of the most sought after foraging and roosting sites for avian visitors as the recent water fowl census had fetched 75 individual species.
89 species were spotted in the lake last year, which was the highest during the previous survey among all the water bodies in Coimbatore. This year around, the lake has also topped the list in the most number of birds, amounting to 2484 birds.
It was the Ukkadam big tank last year with more than 1600 birds.
On the whole, more than 115 species of birds had been counted in two days (7th and 8th of February), in all the water bodies, which is less than the last year’s count of 160 plus. Increased water level in the tanks is cited as the reason for less bird turn outs.
“When the water level is full, birds may not have space to move around for foraging. The tanks with less water had more species,” said D. Boominathan, Landscape Coordinator of Worldwide Fund for Nature.
While water bodies including Krishnampathy (72), Walayar reservoir (67) and Ukkadam (67) hosted a good number of species, lakes including Ukkulam (16), Selvachinthamani (20), Valankulam (23), Sottayandi (23) and Kumarasami (24), recorded the least number of species.
The survey also showed some interesting sightings including large gathering of small pratincole in Walayar, large gathering of ducks in Sengulam and sightings of White Wagtail, Marsh Harrier, Blue Tailed Bee Eater and Peregrine Falcon.