A lake bird sanctuary, that has a breathtaking landscape of
trees and hundreds of birds taking off from the trees, was a sight to behold.
It is a huge lake with thousands of mangrove trees, some of them heavily laden
with birds looking as if they were beautiful blossoms of that tree. On the
other side of the pathway to walk around is a vast area of green fields and
trees....that had a pathway that made me feel, Lo, here is a pathway to
paradise. The walking space of the lake had on one side the trees full of birds
and the other side a sight that soothed my eyes and soul.
Vedanthangal in the Tamil language means 'hamlet of the
hunter'. It is a lake with mangrove trees and a place of great scenic beauty.
There are two watch towers from where you get to see the birds and the
panoramic view is very scenic from there. It is an amazing fact that it was
given the status of a bird sanctuary due to a petition of local villagers who
were aghast at seeing British soldiers shooting the birds, way back in 1796! I
salute those early champions of environmental protection and their effort that
it is today a flourishing lake bird sanctuary where migratory birds come during
the winters. It also happens to be one of the most concentrated bird
sanctuaries.
I was surprised to see so many birds at the same place, The
sanctuary is a huge shallow lake with trees and mangroves dotting the landscape
and a small pathway that runs along it for the visitors to see the birds.I
couldn’t tell what varieties they were, but I was sure they were from many
different species. There are watch towers and special platforms giving a great
view of the breathtaking landscape of trees with hundreds of birds on each one
of them.
Geetha Paniker