ANIL'WORLD

VELLAYANI LAKE AND PUNCHAKKARI FIELDS 

                     
Vellayani lake and punchakkari fields are only few kms away from my home.I took some photos of these places during one my causal visits through this place ,in my two wheeler, fortunately for me i was carrying my camera  with me which i forget to take back from my vechile.These two places have so much ecological importance now a days as one is the largest fresh water lake in Trivandrum district which provides drinking water for a larger area of trivandrum city, while the other one is famous for its variety of  migratory birds from all over the Globe.   It is around 9 km away from Trivandrum the  Central Bus Station at Thampanoor.A road passes through this lake; a bund has been constructed for this purpose. This lake attracts a lot of tourists.There is a boat race in the lake during Onam which attracts a huge crowd. Country boat service is available from Kovalam beach to reach the lake. 

 PUNCHAKKARI FIELDS 

The Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, with a green body and a blue tail, generally feed on bees and wasps, but dragonflies are what they love to eat. Usually seen around the time of Onam, these dragonflies were missing this Onam season in the Punchakkari wetlands. But now, both the prey and predator have arrived at the same time.

 The migratory season of birds started off with the arrival of swallows at Punchakkari -Vellayani wetlands in late August. The Red-rumped Swallows which were seen in large numbers when there were a lot of paddy fields, have touched a near-zero with the drop in paddy fields in and around the area. But the Barn Swallows from Haridwar and different parts of the Himalayas are seen in huge numbers and are pretty active.
 A limited number of Pacific Swallows and Streak-throated Swallows were seen hunting around for pests and insects. Their favourite haunt was the electric line near the Velayani lake.

The prominent migrant water birds seen at Punchakkari were Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Little Ringed Plover and Eurasian Golden Plover.

 In most parts of India, there is a strong association between the Pied Cuckoos and the monsoon rain. They are known to arrive in late May or early June, indicating the arrival of rain. They arrive with juveniles and once they are mature, they move back to hot weather conditions such as in Palakkad, Chinnar wildlife sanctuary and drier areas of Tamil Nadu. That they are still in Punchakkari is a cause of concern for environmentalists.

 Hundreds of Rosy Starlings, also known as Rose-coloured Pastor. were seen feeding near the bushes and weedy marshes near the Canal Road. Brown Shrike, another winter visitor, was also observed near the bushes.

 Apart from the visitors from the North and abroad, local migrant birds were also active at Punchakkari-Vellayani wetlands. The local migrant water birds Indian Coot, Indian Moorhen, Cotton Teal, Lesser Whistling Duck and Dab chicks were happily feeding near the water bodies of main canal.(Courtesy Indian Express)