Winter homes for winged species

The arrival of the winter season has brought with it several migratory birds, including some new visitors, writes Pavan Kumar H

Winter, the festive season for birders, is here. Birders across Karnataka, with their binoculars and telescopic lenses attached to high-end cameras, have been hunting for water bodies, grasslands, thick jungles and coastal areas to capture some rare winged visitors.

Given that Karnataka is part of the central Asian flyway, most migratory Eurasian and central Asian birds make the diverse landscape of the state their winter home.

Over the years, 10,600-odd birders from Bidar to Chamarajanagar, and from Karwar to Raichur, have recorded the presence of 551 bird species on eBird, an online database for bird observations. This year has been no different, as bird watchers have recorded or photographed the presence of 489 species of birds, including waders, cranes, raptors, owls, buntings, bee-eaters, flycatchers and more. Migratory birds are usually sighted near the backwaters of reservoirs, lakes and tanks and grasslands. They are also common sights in the Western Ghats and on Karnataka’s beaches. This year, migratory birds have also been sighted at new locations. 

Sahana M, a Mysuru-based senior birder who has extensively recorded birds across the state, says Karnataka is blessed with a diverse habitat that hosts different types of migratory birds. “Birds such as the glossy ibis and the black-winged stilt, which were once believed to be just migratory, have started breeding in south Karnataka,” she adds.

Habitat loss, due to development work, is resulting in migratory birds finding themselves in new ‘hotspots’ — places that have less disturbance. While some experts state that the number of birds arriving at biodiversity hotspots has drastically decreased over the last three decades, senior bird watchers also point out that there are positive human interventions, resulting in the arrival of certain species of birds. Certain interventions like reservoirs, man-made lakes, conservation efforts and agricultural activities are helping birds visit the region in large numbers.

Take, for example, the Mannapalla lake near Manipal in Udupi district, which is bustling with avian activities. The Mannapalla lake was formed due to the mining of red soil for the production of the famous Mangalore tiles. “There are several human-made water bodies like Mannapalla lake, which attract large numbers of birds, including migratory and resident species,” says Shiva Shankar, a bird watcher from Karkala and founder member of the Coastal Karnataka Birdwatchers Network. He says the coastal region is witnessing the arrival of a few rare buntings this year.

“The ortolan bunting, yellow bunting, red-headed bunting and black-headed bunting are some of the rare birds that have arrived in substantial numbers this year, across the coastal areas. The high number of cyclones and wind patterns might have resulted in a few species of birds taking pit stops in coastal areas, before heading off to their original destinations,” Shiva Shankar adds.

Resource availability

Another important reason for certain species of birds visiting the state is the availability of food. Magadi lake, a human-made tank in Gadag’s Shirahatti taluk, welcomes thousands of bar-headed geese from across the Himalayas between November and March. “Apart from the undisturbed lake, there are several fields that grow Bengal gram, on which these migratory birds feed. Similarly, in Kalaburagi and Bidar, the tur-growing fields welcome hundreds of buntings,” says Guru Prasad, a senior birder.

The forest department’s efforts to protect water bodies by giving them sanctuary status have also helped in preserving the breeding grounds of birds. Areas like the Kaggaladu Bird Sanctuary (Tumakuru), Gendehosalli and Kokkarebellur (Mandya), Bonal lake (Yadgir), the Hidkal backwaters and Ghataprabha (Belagavi) and Ankasamudra (Vijayanagar) have become avian cradles, owing to the efforts of officials and locals.

However, there are several areas in the state where birds thrive in non-protected areas. Kolar Gold Fields is one such area, where this year, migratory birds such as the European bee-eater, Siberian stonechat, Eurasian wryneck, blue-throated flycatcher, blue rock thrush and others were recorded.

Sahana attributes the documentation of several species of birds in Karnataka to the people’s love for the winged animals. “Poaching of birds has come down drastically in the state, thanks to the awareness created by departments, individuals and organisations working in this field,” she says.

While there are small signs of hope for bird species across the state, senior birder Subramanya says anthropological activities, including pollution of water bodies, continue to hurt the bird’s habitat. “Several lakes in Bengaluru used to receive hundreds of species of waders and water birds. However, today, as they have either dried up or are polluted, the number of species visiting the city has drastically come down,” he says. It is our responsibility to return their winter adobe to them, he adds.