Wayanad a renowned wildlife
sanctuary of Kerala is famous for its rich flora and fauna. It is the prime
tourism attractions and the recent bird survey that was carried out in Wayanad
Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) has revealed the presence of 189 species of birds and
13 new bird species was also found in the region.
The survey was organized after seven years, by the Forest and Wildlife Department in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, which is considered to be one of the bird rich habitats in the entire Western Ghats. “We recoded nearly 30 white backed Vultures, four Red-headed Vultures, two long billed Vultures during the survey in the sanctuary. C. Sasikumar and C.K. Vishnudas, ornithologists who led the survey, told The Hindu on Sunday. These three species of vultures are perilously endangered birds and the sight of the Long-billed Vulture was recorded after 20 years” they said. In the Kurichyat Forest Range of the sanctuary, breeding of the White backed Vulture was found. In the year 2007 two red headed Vultures and 12 white backed Vultures were seen in the sanctuary. But this year in the survey 13 new species of birds were seen, out of which five species are of eagles while eight were wet land birds. At Tholpetty, Lesser Grey headed Fish Eagle was also seen, which was another new species, Mr. Vishnuda said. During the survey, it was also recorded 11 species of woodpeckers, 16 species of birds of prey, five species of bulbuls, seven species of pigeons, six species of owls and seven species of cuckoos. In the three day survey, nearly 55 bird watchers from three south Indian states and 55 forest personnel had participated. For the survey work, 15 camps inside the forest ranges such as Muthanga, Kurichyat, Bathery and Tholpetty was set up by the Forest and Wildlife Department under Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Nearly 55 birdwatchers from three south Indian states and 55 forest personnel had participated in the three-day survey. The Forest and Wildlife Department had set up 15 camps inside the four forest ranges such as Muthanga, Kurichyat, Bathery, and Tholpetty under the WWS.
In this survey work various official from the forest department assisted. Roy P. Thomas, wildlife warden, WWS, coordinated the survey and Ajith K. Raman, A.K. Gopalan, P.P. Valsan, and V. Rajan, Forest Range Officers, assisted to make this survey successful.
