Kaggaladu is a village in the

Sira Taluk Sira is a taluk of Tumkur district in the state of Karnataka, India. Its headquarters, Sira city lies on the NH 48 (earlier NH 4) History Sira was politically and militarily an important region of south India prior to the British Raj. Sira Pr ...

Tumkur district Tumakuru District is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. It is the third largest district in Karnataka by land area with an area of 10,598 km2, and fourth largest by Population. It is a one-and-a-half-hour drive from ...

in the south of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, India. Since 1999, the village has been a host for

painted stork The painted stork (''Mycteria leucocephala'') is a large wading bird, wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Thei ...

s and

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...

s, which annually breed and raise their young ones on the trees inside the village. Kaggaladu is located about 9 km to the north-west of Sira, a town on the Sira-Changavara Main Road and the

heronry A heronry, sometimes called a heron rookery, is a breeding ground for herons. Notable heronries Although their breeding territories are often on more protected small islands in lakes or retention ponds, herons breed in heronries (or also called ...

was first made known to the outside world in 1999 by members of the

Tumkur Tumkur, officially renamed as Tumakuru, is a city located in the southern part of Indian state of Karnataka. Tumkur is situated at a distance of northwest of Bangalore, the state capital along NH 48 and NH 73. It is the headquarters of the ...

-based

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

Wildlife Aware Nature Club.IndiaBirds.com - HotSpots

History of the Park

According to locals, the

s have been nesting here on a single tamarind tree since 1993. Their numbers increased in 1996, when a lone tree in the neighbouring Muddenahalli, on which these birds were nesting, was disturbed by poachers and some birds were killed. The villagers are so interested in conserving the birds that, they do not harvest the tamarind in the trees owned by them as well that of the Government. While many of the villagers are interested in protecting the birds just because they look beautiful, a few believe them as harbingers of prosperity, hence their protection.

Natural History of the heronry

Fauna

As the area lies in the plains of the

Deccan Plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

, bordering

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, the wildlife found here is related to the drier areas. WANC is compiling a detailed report of the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

found in the area. But notably a few herds of

blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the shoulder. Mal ...

roam around Kaggaladu and surrounding villages. Also some of the villagers claim to have sighted the great

Indian bustard The great Indian bustard (''Ardeotis nigriceps'') or Indian bustard, is a bustard found on the Indian subcontinent. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs, giving it an ostrich like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of t ...

in the area, but this has not yet been confirmed.

Bird Sanctuary

The birds usually stay in Kaggaladu Bird Sanctuary for about six months, starting from the month of February.Kaggaladu - Lost in wilderness

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...

Report The birds start arriving in groups for the nestling season. By the end of August, the

migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

depart. Kaggaladu is said to be the second largest painted storks sanctuary in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

, after Kokrebellur sanctuary in

Mandya district Mandya District is an administrative district of Karnataka, India. The district is bordered on the south by Mysore district, Mysore and Chamarajanagar district, Chamarajangar districts, on the west by Hassan District, on the north by Tumkur Di ...

. It has been observed that, many birds of the foreign origin also migrate to Kaggaladu during the nestling season. In this bird sanctuary, one can find the birds in flocks of hundreds, but the big gathering of birds is not of the same feather. The

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs ...

trees have been maintained exclusively for birds shelter and nestling. It has been reported that, the villagers of Kaggaladu are very much attached to these migrating birds.

References

''Breeding colony of storks found in Karnataka''
- News story from Indian Express, Bangalore, Monday, 22 March 1999 * ''Large nesting colony of Painted storks identified near Sira (Karnataka)'' - News Letter for Birdwatchers Mar-Apr.1999, Vol.39, No:2 and Myforest (Quarterly Journal of

Forest Department) March 1999

External links

'Lost in wilderness' A story on Kaggaladu in Deccan Herald

Some images of Kaggaladu- ಕಗ್ಗಲಾಡು
{{Protected areas of Karnataka Bird sanctuaries of Karnataka Villages in Tumkur district