HUBBALLI: The historic Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur district will host the upcoming edition of Karnataka Bird festival, also known as Hakki Habba. Besides Nandi Hills, another famous hillock, Skandagiri or Kalavarahalli Betta (Hills) have also been chosen for the two day festival. The Hakki Habba will be inaugurated atop Nandi hills on January 17. The Eco-Tourism Board is making final preparations such as identifying the trails, accommodation facilities and transport arrangements.
The registration will soon be opened online by the Eco Tourism Board of Karnataka. Speaking to TNIE, PCCF (Wildlife) Sanjay Mohan said, “The annual bird festivals in Karnataka attract naturalists and bird enthusiasts across the country. We are positive on good response for the festival. Last edition of the bird festival was held in Bidar and this year it will be held in Nandi Hills and surroundings,” he added. Officials from the Board explained that several birding trails are being readied in and around Nandi hills to facilitate different groups.
Nandi hills is considered as the best winter destination for migratory birds from Himalayan region. Tiny warblers from Himalayas are the main attraction for the birders here. “Nandi Hills has traditional trekking path and different locations for birding. There are several routes that connect hillocks such as Nandi hills and Skandagiri. Besides these paths, there smaller unnamed hillocks which are located around these two famous hills. We will be exploring such paths during the bird festival and ground works are being taken up to facilitate birders,” an official added.
Nandi Hills best place for birding:
Expert Wildlife photographer Manjunath Prabhakar from Bengaluru termed Nandi Hills as the best birding destination around Bengaluru. He said the Nilgiri wood pigeon is a resident bird in Nandi hills and it’s not easy to find it anywhere nearby. “Pied warbler, booted warbler, Blyth read warbler and olive backed pipit are some of the winter migratory species that can be found in and around Nandi hills during this season,” he added.