A muddy, green patch on the farthest end of a 440-acre lake is where we spot pelicans, painted storks, and coots, in hundreds, during a walk along the lake on a windy morning. The Nanjarayan Tank, a bio-diversity hotspot, has just been announced as the 17th bird sanctuary of Tamil Nadu on April 25.
“Just two days ago, the count was at 220 cormorants and 165 pelicans,” says Ravindran Kamatchi, President of Nature Society of Tirupur, started in 2009. “The mud flats scattered in the middle of the lake support a thriving ecosystem and are out of bounds for humans. This undisturbed habitat attracts birds in large numbers.”
The Nanjarayan Tank also known as Sarkar Periyapalayam Reservoir, is located on the outskirts of Tirupur city near Koolipalayam, about 60 kilometres from Coimbatore. “It is over 800 years old and birds have been visiting for centuries,” says Ravindran, who was in the forefront along with a few other naturalists with a long-standing request to declare the lake as a protected wetland or bird sanctuary.
