Joy is in the air here: melodious tweets, sweet chirps and a variety of birds, of different colours, in their trajectories.
This is the Attiveri Bird Sanctuary in Mundgod taluk of Uttara Kannada district. The place, though remarkable in beauty, is not known to many in Karnataka. For bird watchers and naturalists, this place is where they can satiate their desire to watch various kinds of birds, particularly aquatic birds.
More than 1,200 types of birds, including White Ibis, Herons, Little Cormorants, Spoonbills and Painted Stroke, come every year to this man-made habitat during the breeding season. Migratory birds such as Pintails, Gargany, Shoveller, Plovers and 79 other species too come here. Birds such as Lapwings, Water Hen Stilt, Darter and Indian Shag are found throughout the year.
Attiveri was like any other tiny, non-descript village until a dam was built in 1990 across a riverine, Tayawnnaholla. It was built to facilitate irrigation in the region.
The construction resulted in submerging of parts of the dry, deciduous forest in the region. The half submerged trees in the reservoir provided a natural habitat for birds. Added to this, fruits and flowering trees in the forest along the reservoir and a calm place to nest and breed attracted birds, particularly, aquatic.
Although Attiveri was notified as Bird Sanctuary in 1994, it took six more years to declare it as a full-fledged Bird Sanctuary. Spread over 2.23 square kilometre, the water body of 1.01 sq km is a treat for many a visitor with more than 50 species of water birds. Of these, more than 20 species are migratory birds. Besides these aquatic-avian species, arboreal and terrestrial birds constitute another 70 to 80 species.
Prominent among the migratory birds that fly from as far as Europe and Siberia are blue-winged teals (Gargnies) and Northern Pintails, spoonbills with their flat-rounded tips of beaks.
The colourful and noisy terns fly agitatedly at the sight of intruders. Among herons, grey and purple herons can be spotted easily. There are adjoining forests where one can spot more birds along the stream from bund. Here, one can find birds such as Indian Silver Bill and the migratory Redstart.
The forests surrounding the sanctuary are home to wild animals such as wild boars, porcupines, spotted deers, jackals, foxes, hares, wolves, mongooses, peafowl and varieties of snakes.
No development
Notwithstanding a potential to attract a large number of tourists, the sanctuary lacks basic infrastructure as its administrative control comes in Uttara Kananda while the wildlife division falls in Haveri division. Even basic transportation service is not available, forcing one to depend on private arrangement for it. There is a need to provide bus services to this place from Mundgod and Hubli towns.
The district administration is not doing enough to improve the sanctuary while the Forest Department fails to address the basic needs of tourists and bird lovers, citing lack of funds. Yallapur MLA V S Patil, under whose constituency the sanctuary falls, says he wants Attiveri Birds Sanctuary to become a tourist place.
Patil says a memorandum to develop the Attiveri Bird Sancturay and put it on the state’s tourist map is pending with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. He says Rs 30 lakh have been sought for the sanctuary’s overall development.
Assistant Director of Tourism, Haveri, Raju, said the department had provided all basic facilities to the sanctuary as required by Assistant Conservator of Forest Wild Life, Ranebennur. Tourism Department has sanctioned `60 lakh for the construction of Yatri Niwas, an induction centre, cement benches and one bird-watching bridge among others.
Artificial island proposed
Assistant Conservator of Forest Wild Life, Ranebennur sub-division, Gopal Singh, who is monitoring Attiveri Birds Sanctuary, said the Forest Wild Life Department was considering to built one artificial island for birds in Tayawana Halla at an estimated cost of Rs 4 lakhs.
“Our department had a plan to improve this Attiveri Birds Sanctuary. We need money to provide basic infrastructal facilities, to preserve it and get publicity. In this regard, we have sent a Rs 30-lakh management yearly plan to both Central and State Government. But it is not sanctioned yet,” he said.
To avoid trespassers from entering the sanctuary, there is a need to put fencing around 2 km border. Gopal Singh said they had sent a Rs 25-lakh proposal to state government for this.
Local bird watcher Mahesh S Y says there is an urgent need to protect and develop the bird sanctuary. Tourist Girish Katur of Chigalli village in Mundgod taluk said there is a dire need to improve this birds sanctuary by extending more facilities to tourist and to bring this sanctuary on national map.