FROM HERE & THERENovember 12 was the 114th birth anniversary of Salim Ali, the famous ornithologist who some seventy years ago had chosen Ranganathittu for his ornithological research and documentation.Salim Ali’s legacyThis is said to have convinced the Mysore Maharaja to declare the islet a protected  bird sanctuary (in 1940). For the past several years, Ranganathittu has remained the most preferred destination for winged guests known to come from across the globe during every nesting season.

Located near Srirangapatna, in the downstream of KRS, the Ranganathittu bird sanctuary consists of seven small islets formed by the river courses of Cauvery. Spread over 60 sq. km of mostly reserve forest area, the Ranganthittu bird sanctuary (called ‘Pakshi Kashi of Karnataka’) is known to attract ornithologists and tourists  alike. The river spot teems with a wide variety of migratory and local birds.

S V Upendra Charya

Birds seem to favour RanganathittuNumber of birds in the sanctuary has increased after the introduction of new initiatives

The Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary near Srirangapatna attracted more than 2.9 lakh visitors and netted more than Rs. 2.43 crore in revenue during 2011-12.

This figure is a record for the sanctuary which attracts tourists throughout the year. The sanctuary received around 1.89 lakh tourists in 2008-09 so it is easy to see the remarkable feat achieved in three years.

Deputy Conservator of Forests S.N. Devaraj toldThe Hindu that the Forest Department had taken up initiatives to improve the sanctuary habitat so that more birds would be attracted to the area. As a result, the number of birds roosting in the sanctuary has increased, thereby drawing more tourists, he said.

Initiatives

Some of the initiatives were taken up more than three years ago, such as improving the bird islets which were damaged due to flash floods. The soil and vegetation cover was refurbished to provide birds the requisite natural camouflage.

Bamboo grove

There are additional bird-centric measures in store to embellish the ambience of the sanctuary. This includes creating a bamboo groove, which will help absorb sound to minimise noise pollution caused by vehicle movement in the vicinity, said Mr. Devaraj. The department has acquired land adjoining the boundary of the sanctuary and will plant saplings of local species of plants, fruit and berry-bearing trees to attract more land-based birds.

Costs

The ongoing embellishment of the sanctuary is expected to cost the department Rs. 30 lakh and will be completed in six months.

The sanctuary received legal status when renowned ornithologist Salim Ali visited Mysore in the late 1930s and urged the then Maharaja of Mysore to declare it as a bird sanctuary in view of the large number of birds roosting there. Located a few km upstream of Srirangapatna on the banks of the Cauvery, the sanctuary is home to a variety of birds, including the painted storks, brown-headed barbet, pelicans, stone plover, open-billed stork, grey and purple herons and the kingfisher.

Heavy rainfall causes flooding in Ranganathittu bird sanctuary

MOVING TO SAFETY: Birds huddle together at a safe height at Ranganathittu bird sanctuary

Ranganathittu: Heavy rainfall and copious discharge from the Krishnaraja Sagar since Saturday has flooded the bird sanctuary at Ranganathittu and boating has been cancelled as a precautionary measure.

However, entry of visitors to the bird sanctuary has not been banned and tourists can get a glimpse of birds from the pathways along the periphery of the sanctuary.

Assistant Conservator of Forests Prasanna Kumar told The Hinduthat the birds have escaped nature's fury as a large number of chicks had gained enough strength to fly to safety. The situation became precarious on Sunday when the outflow from the KRS was stepped up to nearly 85,000 cusecs. By Sunday evening the inflow was increased to over 93,000 cusecs. As a result, the water-level in the river rose drastically and submerged low-lying fields and flooded the embankments of the six islets that are part of the bird sanctuary.

However, there was no loss of bird life as the breeding season is over and migratory birds will arrive here only in early November. Meanwhile, there is a proposal to increase the height of the embankment of the six islets at Ranganathittu. Mr. Kumar has said that it is a difficult task and the natural topography of the region does not permit such a move. A substantial increase in the water-level is bound to flood the embankments, but this is not a recurring event and happens only once every few years, he added. However, the Forest Department has constantly reinforced the foreshore and the embankment of the islands by placing sandbags and pebbles to minimise erosion.

The bird sanctuary is one of the most popular tourist spots in the State and is rated as among the best in the country.

The season is also considered to be one of the best to view the birds.

The sanctuary attracts nearly 2.8 lakh tourists every year and was formed when Kantirava Narasimharaja Wadiyar constructed an embankment across the Cauvery in 1648.

The sanctuary attracts hundreds of species of birds such as little cormorant, night heron, large cormorant, white ibis, darter, lesser whistling teal, river tern, Indian cliff swallow, spoon-billed stork, painted stork, and pelican.

Ranganathittu gets a new look

About 40 to 50 pelicans have made Ranganathittu their home, says Range Forest Officer

Wasteland adjoining the sanctuary has been acquired and developed by the Forest Department

Alluring: Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary attracts birds and tourists from distant places.

Mysore: The famed Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary near Srirangapatana has received a facelift with a slew of new facilities for the benefit of the winged visitors as also the tourists.

As a result, there is a perceptible increase in the number of birds and tourists visiting the riverine islets that constitute the sanctuary and has brought cheers to the bird lovers as also the officials.

The frequent floods during monsoon had damaged the islets and three of the seven islets had been completely destroyed. The islets were bereft of soil and vegetation which had been washed away due to the floods and there were only natural rock surface which did not provide adequate camouflage for the birds to roost.

However, the forest department took up an initiative to re-do the islet by way of adding tonnes of soil and planted saplings which has flowered to provide the winged beauties the much-needed canopy. “Three of the seven islets had been destroyed and we spent Rs. 15 lakh for their development by filling up the place with soil and planting saplings,” according to Range Forest Officer Shivashankar, who is in-charge of the bird sanctuary.

He told The Hindu that besides developing the islets, they re-did the entire landscaping, created a new rock garden to enhance the aesthetics of the bird sanctuary, which has a new look compared to the earlier jaded appearance.

A large wall constructed to prevent flooding of the sanctuary marred the beauty of the sanctuary but the authorities camouflaged it with vegetation and created landscape garden in the foreground which added to the beauty of the bird sanctuary. In addition, some wasteland adjoining the sanctuary areas was also acquired by the Forest Department and has developed it, said Mr. Shivashankar.

The Salim Ali Interpretation Centre — named after the famous ornithologist who first suggested that Ranganathittu be declared a bird sanctuary during his visit to Mysore for a bird survey in the early 1900 — is now fully functional and a 45-minute documentary on the bird sanctuary will be screened regularly for interested tourists and special interest groups, Mr. Shivashankar added.

The net impact of the beautification drive is a perceptible increase in the number of birds and more importantly even the pelicans, which never used to nestle or roost at Ranganathittu, have made it their home for the last few months. “About 40 to 50 pelicans have made Ranganathittu their home”, said Mr. Shivashankar.

Ranganathittu was declared as a bird sanctuary in 1940 by the Mysore Maharaja at the behest of Salim Ali and the seven islets that constitute the sanctuary is spread over 0.67 sq. km only.

Yet the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is thriving with bird life ranging from the Indian peafowl to brown-headed barbet, crimson-breasted barbet to small blue kingfisher.

Over 1.9 lakh tourists visited the sanctuary during 2008-09 and more than 17,000 tourists visited Ranganathittu during April 2009 alone.

Ranganathittu comes alive with winged beauties

The mini-islets of Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Srirangapatna have come alive with birds of different species flocking here to herald the nesting and breeding season.

According to Forest Department officials, at least 8,000 migratory birds of various plumes have arrived from different parts of the world in recent days.

Birds from Siberia, Latin America and a few parts of north India have descended on the islands to hatch eggs.

“Around 8,000 birds have arrived in the last two weeks and the number may reach 40,000 in a couple of months,” P. Lakshmeesha, Deputy Range Forest Officer, said on Friday.

A good number of Pelicans, Painted Storks, Open Billed Storks, River Terns, Spoon Bills, Night Herons, Cormorants and other birds have begun to flock to Ranganathittu, he said. However, species such as Egrets, Asian Openbill Storks, Woolly-necked Storks, Black Ibis, Lesser Whistling Duck, Oriental Darter and other species are yet to arrive in big numbers.

“The mini-islets attract birds from across the world during mid-winter commencing from December last week. The winged beauties arrive here to nestle during winter. They stay throughout the summer and fly away after breeding ahead of the onset of monsoon,” he said. The bird sanctuary is attracting tourists from different parts of the country too.

A good number of tourists from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra have visited the sanctuary in the last two weeks, Forest Department officials said.

As per the statistics available with the Department of Forests, 10.87 lakh tourists visited Ranaganathittu between 2008-09 and 2011-12. Among them 46,049 were from foreign countries.

Around 1,500 tourists visit the sanctuary during weekends. The number might go down to 300 during week days, Mr. Lakshmeesha said.

8,000 nestlings sighted at Ranganathittu

Every year between June and November, the nesting season makes Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary a sight to behold as birds from different parts of the world fly in.Hence, a treat awaits bird watchers at Ranganthittu, as more than 8,000 nestlings have made the sanctuary their home.

Variety of birds

A variety of bird species can be seen perched atop the trees including Open Bill, White Ibis, Kettle Egret, Night Heron, Painted Stork, Paddy Bird, Little Egret and Snake Bird that have hatched the eggs and can be seen feeding the nestlings regularly.

The Pelican has appeared for the first time and has laid eggs here. Large Egret, Snake Bird and Painted Stork are the more commonly found bird species, while nestlings of Kettle Egret and White Ibis are few in number.Even Cormorants have also made the sanctuary their home

Sanctuary crocs fear extinction Bangalore : Tourist interest in the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary,about 130 kms from Bangalore,may eventually spell doom for its thriving crocodile population.Experts say crocodile-human conflict could be an area of concern if the number of tourists are not restricted.The Mandya sanctuary is home to the largest fresh-water crocodile population in the state.Crocodiles need to bask in sunlight for some part of the day and if visitor timings are not regulated,these shy animals will gradually lose their habitat and their population will dwindle, said BC Choudhury,former head of endangered species management department,Wildlife Institute of India and currently the chair for India of Crocodile Specialist Group of IUCN-SSC.In Karnataka,crocodiles are abundantly found in Bheema river,some tributaries of the Krishna,manmade reservoirs and the Cauvery river along the Karnataka-T amil Nadu border.Crocodilians of most species were pushed to the brink of extinction by the 1960 s by unregulated hunting for their skin.A unified approach to human-crocodile conflict in India is needed, said Colin Stevenson,director,Madras Crocodile Bank Trust,India.We have to develop appropriate and cost-effective technologytoconservecrocodiles.A greater awareness followed by responsible action can reduce conflict, said Ajai Saxena,additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife),Andaman & Nicobar Islands.The Karnataka government could do well to take a leaf out of Madhya Pradesh tourism departments strategy.First promoted was the Kanha National Park,followedby Bandhavgarh,Panna and Pench so that none of the tiger reserves were forced to accommodate moretouriststhan their carrying capacity.This also ensuredthatthedegradedhabitat at one place got sufficienttimeto recover before visitorsstarted pouring in for the next season.