Nesting ground

Nesting ground
Conservation and rejuvenation of lakes has paid off. Rare birds like the spot-billed pelican are returning to their nesting sites and decline in their population has been stemmed
Dipannita Das | TNN

Bangalore: If you are visiting Hebbal Lake, you could spot flocks of white skimming low over the surface: it’s the season for winged beauties to visit city lakes, and the spotbilled pelicans are here to nest.
Ornithologists and nature lovers are delighted — the flocks are growing in number, and at last count, a record number of 237 pelicans were spotted at the lake.
In North Bangalore, one can spot pelicans at the lakes of Yelahanka, Jakkur, Hebbal and in South Bangalore, at Madiwala, Agara and Mavathur, Kanakapura Road. A majority of these lakes are leased out to private parties, and the commercial fishing there attracts the pelicans in large numbers. In 2005, at least 225 pelicans were spotted at Yelemallappa Chetty tank along Old Madras Road.
There is also a steady increase in the number of pelicans in the state. Over the years, the nesting population has doubled — from 200 in 1995 to the present 400. Ornithologists point out that this increase in number is due to good nesting grounds in Mysore, Mandya district, Kokkare Bellur, and at Ranganathittu. In Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, there are 21 breeding colonies, and their numbers have risen from less than 4,000 to around 6,000.
Bird expert S Subramanya says good community-based conservation work by NGOs in the region, coupled with improved protection of breeding sites, has led to an increase in its number. In the 1920s, more than a million spot-billed pelicans were believed to exist in South and South-East Asia. But by the 1990s, the number had dropped to fewer than 12,000 birds, and the species was listed as vulnerable. The decline was largely caused by conversion of wetlands and loss of nesting sites.
Ornithologist M B Krishna says that due to ongoing habitat loss and human disturbances, the spot-billed pelican’s numbers have been on the decline. They are also disturbed by the steady movement of boats.

FISH LOVER
The spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) is a member of the pelican family. It is mainly white, with a grey crest, hind neck and tail. It is sedentary with local movements, travelling 80-100 km in search of food and safe nesting sites, and prefers places where fish is in abundance. It catches fish in its huge bill pouch, while swimming at the surface.
It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially shallow lakes. The nest is a heap of vegetation in a tree.


REJUVENATED HEBBAL LAKE
The pelicans at Hebbal Tank are using both the closed-circle and horseshoe-shaped islands. EIH Ltd, that has been given the lease for Hebbal Lake by LDA, has taken up prevention of waste water inflow into the lake, creation of a sewage treatment plant, and improvement of catchment areas to harvest storm water into the lake. A body of bird watchers and ecology experts have been consulted to improve its environmentally sensitive aspects. The lake’s embankments have been kept natural to encourage plant and aquatic life to survive naturally, and add to the ecological richness of the lake. Recently, bird watchers spotted a number of birds like pelicans, herons and kingfishers. EIH Ltd has completed desilting and deweeding the bed of the lake, and has prevented silt and floating solid wastes from entering the lake by constructing silt traps and suitable modifications for sewage diversion.