Summary
This map shows locations of the annual Vembanad Water Bird Count. The results of the survey from 2001 to 2007 is attached to the map. This includes the birds found at each location and their numbers.
Description
The mid-winter Vembanad Water Bird Count is conducted once every year, at ten different sites over the Vembanad region of Kottayam and Alappuzha districts of Kerala. The data contains the birds found and their number at each location. The census is a participatory event attended by several bird watchers and co-ordinated by Kottayam Nature Society and the Department of Forests and Wildlife, Kerala.
To get a complete check list of birds of Vembanad lake, go to vembanad lake map.
Methods
Bird watchers from different parts of Kerala and officials of Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department participate in the count. The census is conducted on a single day between 6 am and 10 am. The survey strictly follows the methodology suggested by Wetlands International for the Mid-Winter Water Fowl Count. Line transect method is followed for the count. Block count method is used for larger groups. It must be remembered that on all occassions the counts were not total. The number of birds in each species is only indicative of its comparative abundance. But, it is ensured that the methodology followed and the efforts put in on all the occassions were almost identical.
Vembanad Wetlands
The Vembanad wetland complex is the largest tropical wetland ecosystem on the southwest coast of India. It is a designated Ramsar site, a wetland of global importance for its biodiversity values. The site is ecologically significant owing to vanishing mangrove patches and as an important site for resident and migratory waterfowl. Vembanad Lake, along with adjacent Kol lands, is the largest Ramsar site in India and supports the third largest wintering waterfowl population of the country. It is also identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA), satisfying IBA criteria A(4i) and A(4iii). Avifuana include the vulnerable Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) and threatened birds such as Oriental Darters (Anhinga melanogaster)and Black-bellied Terns (Sterna acuticauda). The site does not receive any official protection.
External Links
http://www.kottayamnaturesociety.org
References
Kottayam Nature Society 2008. Vembanad Water Bird Count 2007 - 2008. B. Sreekumar (Ed.). Department of Forests and Wildlife, Government of Kerala and Kottayam Nature Society
Kottayam Nature Society 2006. Vembanad Water Bird Count 2006, B. Sreekumar (Ed.). Department of Forests and Wildlife, Government of Kerala and Kottayam Nature Society.
Mundkur, T and Taylor, V., 1993. Asian Waterfowl Census 1993. AWB. Malaysia and IWRB. U.K.
Perennou, C. 1990. Species to look for in India. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 30:10.
Perennou, C., Rose, P and Poole, C., 1990. Asian Waterfowl census 1990. The International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research (IWRB), Slimbridge, U.K.
Salim Ali. 1969. Birds of Kerala. Oxford University Press, New Delhi. 444pp.
Scott, D.A and Rose, P., 1989. Asian Waterfowl Census 1989. The International Waterfowl and wetlands Research Bureau (IWRB). Slimbridge, U.K.
Rain played hide-and-seek,
Rain played hide-and-seek, and my plan to visit the nearby heronry (better known as Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary) was more or less dependent on this game. After all, the idea to choose Water Scapes was mainly because of its close proximity to the sanctuary. But then, Alex Joshua, manager of the resort, doubted if I would really be able to visit the sanctuary that day. “It’s difficult to sight birds during rains,” he shrugged. It was a bit disappointing, but Alex did a good thing. Before he left, he gave me a small book, titled Vembanad: Water Bird Count 2006. It had details of the Water Fowl Census held in the Vembanad region by the Kerala Department of Forests and Wildlife and the Kottayam Nature Society.
The Vembanad-Kole wetland, where the bird sanctuary belongs, is the largest of its kind in Kerala that was declared a Ramsar Site in 2002 along with Kole wetlands. “The total number of birds,” said the report, “counted in 2006 is 11,492 where as it was 28, 256 in 2005. The fluctuation is mainly due to the decrease in the number of Anatidae birds (ducks).” The reason, it added, was lack of a safe place for the ducks for roosting during daytime because vast areas of paddy fields were reclaimed of late.
After lunch, I went to Kumarakom boat jetty, from where I boarded an SWTC boat to Muhamma. The ferry was jammed with local people, and didn’t have any stop in between. As we reached the middle of the Vembanad lake, a fellow-traveller reminded me of the 2002 Kumarakom boat tragedy. “You know, that boat was very old,” said Sivaraman, introducing himself as a regular passenger on this route. “It was supposed to carry 100 people, but that day it carried more than 300 people. Most of the passengers were going to write a PSC test and this was the last boat. It capsized near Kumarakom...29 people died.” The ferry took forty minutes to reach Muhamma, a small town in neighbouring Alappuzha district. There was a small tea stall and stationary shop adjacent to the jetty. An old man was sitting by the banks of the lake, trying his luck on fishing. Raghavan had a cloth bag in which he kept the fish he had caught. “River fish is not in much demand here, but if you go out, people will buy it,” he said. Since there was no service to the nearby Pathiramanal Island from Muhamma, I had to take the same boat back. While coming back, the boat master told me, “You know this is the village where (veteran communist leader) P Krishna Pillai succumbed to a snake-bite.”
Back in the cottage, it stopped raining in the evening, but I decided to settle down, watching the placid beauty of the Vembanad lake. It was awesome through the glass doors, especially when the sun was about to set. A flock of Little Cormorant was resting on the water hyacinth in the middle of the lake.