Pallikaranai - birds come inspite of the degradation!

The Hindu : Young World : Coming home to the wetlands Pelican points

ROHINI RAMAKRISHNAN
It’s celebration time at the Pallikaranai Marsh as the pelicans have returned. In the past two years the number of sightings has increased and this augurs well for the birds.

The early morning mist slowly melts as the sun rises across the Pallikaranai Marsh. The sparse water body, the tall reed become visible. And yes, there is something new to be seen — large swan-like birds swim gracefully on the waters. I crane my neck a little more and half rise from my seat in the rickety bus that plies on the east Tambaram route. Now there’s no doubt about it, it was them — the pelicans are back, visiting the wetlands of Pallikaranai.

Talking to the birdman, Theodore Baskaran, I discovered that for the past two years there were plenty of sightings of the pelican in and around the water bodies of Chennai and this augured well for the birds, especially as they are on the Endangered List. It is no longer a rare sight to see pelicans and this would mean they have multiplied n numbers.

Fresh pastures
As Mr. Thirunaranan of Nature Trust pointed out, the arrival of these birds could mean that they were the overspill from bird sanctuaries like Vedanthangal and it is their move to “fresh pastures”. Some were local migrants, coming from Gujarat and other areas.

But Baskaran said while examining a dead pelican they found a ring with a number round its neck. Analysing it they found that the pelican had flown in from Kazakhstan.

Wetlands anywhere bear the greatest of pressure from the land hungry population, says Baskaran. As the city expands, there is need for more land and the first to disappear are the lakes.

If you look around the city, you will see that lake areas now are merely names, eg., Lake View in Nungambakkam (near Valluvar Kottam). Wetlands are also victims of globalisation as due to this the city expands drastically.

Wetlands are special and therefore need to be protected and conserved, as many long-legged birds and waders, amphibians, plants and insects depend on it for their survival.

Strict rules observed at places like the Pallikaranai Marsh by the Forest Department could contribute to the frequency of the winged visitors which enriches our own life by their sheer presence.

Pelican points

A pelican is large water bird with a distinctive pouch under the beak. They swim with short legs that are extremely strong and their four toes are webbed. When they rub the back of their heads their preen glands secrete an oily substance which waterproofs the plumage.

Diet: Fish, amphibians, crustaceans and at times small birds.

Watch them : They often catch fish by expanding the throat pouch. First they must drain the pouch above the surface before they can swallow. It takes a minute to do this and often during this time other water birds steal the fish. Pelicans too pirate from other birds.

Unique technique: Group fishing is done too. They form a line to chase schools of small fish into shallow water, and then simply scoop them up. Large fish are caught with the bill-tip, and then tossed up in the air to be caught and gobbled head first.