DANDELI: With the third edition of the Hornbill festival coming to an end at Dandeli on Sunday, the question remains for how long the Government Timber Depot will be the favourite spot for sighting the hornbills. For the last few years, the increased logging activities and vehicular movement inside the depot are bringing down the sighting opportunities of these winged beauties.
The birdwatching experts stress the involvement of the forest department in conserving one of the hot spots for birdwatchers. Today the Timber Depot of Dandeli is known to all the famous birders in India. The presence of fruit-bearing trees and its proximity to the ever-flowing Kali river has made this patch of logging ground a favourite site for many birds including the Great-pied hornbill.
"The numbers of hornbills have been increasing in Dandeli and Joida in the last few years. But at the same time, the planting of fruit-bearing trees is not happening. We must plan more such trees to ensure the population of hornbills remains intact in Dandeli. We have also requested the forest officials to ensure some rules inside the Timber depot so that the birders and birds are not disturbed. The loud honking must be prohibited by declaring the area as a no-honk zone," suggested Rajani Rao, bird watching guide working in Dandeli.
"Despite logging activities on the ground, the birds roost on the trees throughout the day. The site has remained safe for these birds and every birder who visits Dandeli aspires to spend a few hours at the depot. Recently forest officials have given permission to make roads inside the Timber Depot which may increase vehicle movement. The forest department used the bulls to pull the logs from one point to another. With new mud tracks it is possible that increased vehicle movement may discourage hornbills from roosting here," pointed out a bird watcher from Dandeli.
The Puneeth Tree
The Government Timber Depot in Dandeli has a hidden attraction - Puneeth Tree. Late actor Puneeth Rajkumar from the Kannada industry had attended a hornbill-watching session inside the Depot in 2020 during a shooting of his film. The ficus tree where Puneeth joined the bird-watching team in Dandeli is now referred to as the Puneeth Rajkumar tree.