One
of the most spectacular breeding grounds in India. Cormorants, herons,
storks, pelicans, grebes and many others.The Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary has
been protected by the local people for well over 250 years. The sanctuary
gets its name from a nearby village and is only 75 Km from Chennai. The bird
life (resident & visitors) includes Cormorants, Darters, Herons, Egrets,
Open billed Stork, Spoonbill and White Ibis, Little Grebe, Indian Moorhen,
Black Winged Stilts, a few migratory ducks and occasionally Grey Pelicans.
November to February is the ideal season to visit the sanctuary.
Vedanthangal is a home not only to migratory birds but also to many
ornithologists who camp here for weeks observing the birds at close
quarters. With a powerful pair of binoculars, you can spot a Cormorant or a
Snake Bird dive under the water to gobble up a nervous fish which is its
staple diet. Soon after the hunt, the Cormorant must come up to the shore to
dry its feathers as nature has not endowed it with oil-glands to water-proof
the feathers.
The Spot-Billed Grey Pelican, on the contrary, moves in groups lashing the
water with powerful wing strokes driving the fish to a shallow corner for
the ultimate assault. The Spoon Bill, however, prefers to devour frogs and
insects in the muddy water with its bills half open.
The winged visitors regulated by biological clocks land at Vedanthangal
after the monsoon with amazing clock-work precision and get into the
breeding act quietly. The population of the migratory birds swells to around
40,000 by the middle of January.
»
How to get there : Chennai is the nearest airport and one can motor down
a distance of a hundred kilometers, most of it on the well-maintained
National Highway 45. The nearest railhead is Chinglepet (26 km).
» When to visit : The best season to visit is from November to
January.
» Where to stay : Accommodation is available at the Forest
Department Rest House or Hotel Tamil Nadu of the Tamil Nadu Tourism
Development Corporation. Reservations for the latter could be made at the
Chennai office, through money order or bank drafts.
Vedanthangal
Water Birds Sanctuary 
