Perumbakkam’s avian population wows bird watchers

An effervescent Vikas said he has been into birds since the age of five. This young ornithologist, who was awarded the young naturalist award by Sanctuary Asia, said he has marked down over 500 species of birds across the nation. "I have also identified 86 different species of butterflies in one street of Indira Nagar alone in Adyar," he said.

Vikas was kept busy as questions on birds kept pouring in from first timers but an enthusiast interjected saying, "Vikas, there is no GPS this time." GPS? Global Positioning System for a bird walk? "No, GPS is short for Greater Painted Snipe," chuckles Vikas.

But, the more surprising fact was yet to be revealed. All bird walkers were stunned to discover that the Perumbakkam water tank was inhabited by around 35 different species of birds.

The walk, organised by the Madras Naturalists’ Society (MNS) as part of Madras Week celebrations, also offered participants a little insight about the dangers of the shrinking Pallikaranai marsh land.

However, right from the word go, participants armed with binoculars and high resolution cameras fitted with telephoto lens, were engrossed in taking in the beauty of the birds. G Amirthagowri of Medavakkam was on her first bird watching trip. “I have lived in this city for many years and so it is a bit of surprise that there are so many varieties of birds,” she said.

Her son, Praveen Kumar, who has worked in Australia, said that bird watchers were higher in number down under but the number of species found here is quite staggering. “There, it is pretty much seagulls,” he remarked.

In the duration of the walk, close to 700 birds were spotted. “That is as many as we could spot standing out here on the main road. The tank is huge and there could be more than 1,000 easily,” said S.V. Ganeshwar of Bird Count India.

This was when a little trivia from MNS’s G. Vijay Kumar gripped the group's imagination. “The water in the tank is brackish due to untreated waste water being released into it from the constructions that have sprung up around it,” Vijay Kumar said. “Because in India, we have this notion that waste water has to be let out into a river, lake, marsh or any water body,” he said.

Ravi Muthuswamy, a private management consultant and civil engineer, said that conserving the city’s flora and fauna was essential. Vishwanathan, a consultant advocate and a participant, who echoed the former’s opinion said it was high time that conservation gets priority.

“I have driven down this Perumbakkam main road many times but not even once stopped to admire the real beauty that lies here. But it is also encouraging to see so many youngsters getting involved. I suppose the future generation is more environment conscious than we are,” Vishwanathan said.

Meanwhile, a migratory bird, the Garganey – a type of dabbling duck, caught everyone’s interest. “It is not supposed to be here yet. The winter is its breeding season, so we are really lucky to be able to spot it this early,” said Vikas.

Then, there was the Ruddy Breasted Crake which the bird watchers said was a very secretive bird. Yellow Bittern, Cinnamon Bittern, Striated Heron, Grey Heron, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Painted Stork, Pheasant tailed Jacana and of course, the Pelicans made the day for the participants.