Having visited Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary two times, I am in complete awe of the sheer diversity and number of birds that visit this wildlife haven. Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary is a protected area located around 90 km from Chennai in my state of origin, Tamil Nadu in India. During the migratory season at the end of the year, more than 40,000 birds from all over the world come to the sanctuary to nest. The first time I entered the protected sanctuary, I was amazed, having never seen that many birds in one area, including waterbird species- pelicans, cormorants, darters, ibises, and storks. What’s more, many of them were nesting with their young, and we witnessed different species in such a small vicinity nesting amongst each other, benefiting from the rich and fertile lakes dotting the region.
See if you can spot the spoonbills, storks and cormorants!
A history rundown… Reading about the history of this place on the notice boards gave me a deeper understanding of its uniqueness. Vedanthangal is the oldest water bird sanctuary in India. In my mother tongue Tamil, Vedanthangal means “hamlet of the hunter”, as the area was a popular hunting spot of the local landlords in the early 18th century. The local villagers around Vedanthangal played a large role in stopping this. They recognized the relationship between birds and the productivity of the crops long before the concept of wildlife conservation. They knew the bird droppings in the water acted as a fertilizer, increasing the yield greatly and saving fertilizer costs. Towards the end of the 18th century, the locals complained about the shooting of birds. Eventually, in 1962, Vedanthangal was given the legal status of reserved forest under the Madras Forest Act.
Even today in Vedanthangal you can witness the close relationship between the people and birds. The villagers farm near the sanctuary, forest officials speak with pride about the wildlife, and tea and coffee sellers locate outside the sanctuary to welcome its visitors and chat about the birds.
A Great Egret (Ardea alba) foraging in the farm fields
One of the first birds I saw entering the sanctuary was the Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala). This non-migratory bird is distinguishable from other storks by their distinctive pink tertial feathers.
With its wings stretched while sitting on trees or flying, you can see its lovely black and white feathers.
I’m not an expert in species identification, so if you notice a mistake in my identifications please let me know. Also, some of my pictures were also not clear enough to do so, so I apologize for that! I am planning to learn more about how to use my Canon DSLR during my current summer holidays.
Another beautiful bird I saw in abundance at the sanctuary was the Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus). This species is Near Threatened (IUCN 2016) as it faces a population reduction. Unfortunately, this is common with most large wetland species in Asia. It faces threats from hunting, disturbance at breeding colonies and conversion of foraging habitats to agriculture. However, in some areas, such as Kerala (also in South India), the local population is increasing.
I was happy that there were so many of the ibises in Vedanthangal. I even saw a juvenile one being taken care of by its parents! How adorable!
In almost every tree and corner I turned to I could see tiny black birds, whose wings were often open to dry their wet wings. These were mainly Little Cormorants (Microcarbo niger), I think.
Group of Little Cormorants
A quick movement in the water led me to catch a sight of the skillful and sly snakebird (colloquial name), also known as the Indian/Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster). Its neck is so slender, I only wished I could have seen its awe-inspiring wings that glisten and shine when they dry themsleves.
Peeking its head out of the water..
On the pathway that ran through the sanctuary, we spotted a large spider, which was identified on the closed group “Spider Identification Page” on Facebook as a species from the Tetragnathidae family.
It was great to visit this bird haven with my cousin, Smera, who is a conservation science technician working for Ontario Nature, an environmental organization based in Toronto. How lovely it was to have someone to share the same excitement as me! She also told the importance of noting down all the species seen in the field. This is important to keep track of species you are able to identify and keep track of on the field itself, and also makes it easier to identify them once you’re home. I will definitely be doing this as it is a more organized way of identification.
We spotted an Indian Jungle Crow (Corvus culminatus). My cousin mimicked its call, and to my surprise, it called loudly back at her! Crows are quite common in India, unlike Singapore, and are extremely intelligent creatures. The sight of a crow reminds me of childhood story I’m sure you all know- the smart crow which placed pebbles in a pot of water in order to drink it.
One of the largest and majestic water birds we got to observe closely were pelicans! I saw them in the wild for the first time in this sanctuary. The pelican species found in Vedanthangal is predominantly the Spot-billed or Grey Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) They are also Near Threatened (IUCN, 2017) species.
Grey pelicans are colonial breeders, often breeding in the company of other waterbirds. We were lucky to be able to observe the pelicans nested in a thick platform of twigs on a tree with several of their young nestled close together. These nests were close to a host of other birds and even fruit bats that hung on the same tree!
Grey Pelicans are found in a variety of deep and shallow wetlands and feeds in open water. I saw several of them gliding almost lazily across the water. One pelican seemed intrigued by this Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis) that had popped its head out of the water!
“Hm.. are you friend or food?”
“Oh! Where did you go little fella?”
The pelicans looked majestic whilst flying. Although they are large, they are relatively small compared to other pelican species.
There were also many herons to be seen, such as the Indian Pond Heron, Night Heron and Grey Heron. We saw a Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) couple taking twigs to presumably build a nest.
Apart from these waterbirds, some new species I spotted were a few Eurasian spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) and several Asian openbill storks (Anastomus oscitans) and a Pintail Duck (Anas acuta), which I could not photograph as it disappeared in an instant!
Asian Open Bill Storks (Anastomus oscitans)
The spoonbill’s bill was particularly interesting!
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)
These pictures hardly do justice to the beauty of these birds and the location. You have to visit the place for yourself! To prevent this blogpost from becoming too long, there’s another post coming up with some amazing non-water birds I spotted at the sanctuary. Do read it as there are some adorable birds that you can’t miss! See you in the next one!
Here are some tips and directions on how to get to this bird sanctuary.
VEDANTHANGAL BIRD SANCTUARY
Address: Vedathangal, Madurantakam, Tamil Nadu 603314, India
Best Season to Visit: The best time to visit the sanctuary is during the winter seasons that is from the month of November to March. Migratory birds also fly into the sanctuary during November to December. The sanctuary is open throughout the year.
Ticket Price:
- Rs. 5 per person for children
- Rs. 25 per person for adults
- Extra will need to be paid for cameras
- Binoculars available for purchase in the sanctuary
Accomodation: For accommodation in Vedanthangal, you can either go for the Forest Department Rest House or Hotel Tamil Nadu of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation. One can make reservation at the Chennai Office.
By Air: The nearest airport to Vedanthangal is Chennai international airport which is approximately 70 km from the sanctuary.
By Train: The nearest railway station is Chengalpet Railway Station which is 26 km away from Vedanthangal. One can hire taxi from the station to the sanctuary. Ola (https://www.olacabs.com/fares/chennai) a service similar to Uber and Grab is a convenient way of getting around Chennai and India in general.
By Bus: To travel by road from Chennai, take the national highway no. 45 to Chengalpattu and head south towards Padalam junction. A right turn here will lead to the sanctuary road. There are many buses running between Vedanthangal and Chengalpet, Kanchipuram, Chennai and Mahabalipuram. One can choose between airconditioned and non-airconditioned buses.
Duration of stay: If you are going for a single day visit, it is best to visit the sanctuary in the early morning hours from 7am onwards. There will be a smaller crowd of people and you can witness many birds coming out of their nests and flying around. There is enough to see for a whole day at the sanctuary, and if you are staying overnight you can visit a couple of times. Advisable to carry your own food as there are limited places to buy/eat food nearby, and you can have a picnic at the sanctuary as well.
(Source for the info on Vendanthangal directions: Tamilnadu Tourism)
My Nature Experiences 
What beautiful pictures! I think my favorites were the painted storks, pair of grey pelicans, and jungle crow. Actually I love all of them. What a beautiful place – a real treasure.
Hi Pam, thank you so much! It is such a beautiful place, I hope you get to visit there some day 🙂
I would love to visit! Thank you for telling people about that special place.
Such incredible birds, and your photos of them are excellent! Wetlands are extraordinary places to visit, because of the diversity of life within them.
Wow. That looks like an amazing place with so many birds. You have taken some fantastic photographs. I had previously assumed you lived in Singapore, but see that you are in India. I am sure there must be a lot of fantastic wildlife there.
There must also be a lot of fish in the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary to sustain so many birds.
Hi Nick! Thank you so much! I actually do live in Singapore, my grandparents and other relatives live in India so I visit there often. I’m only just discovering the wildlife there!