Changaram: Kerala's bird-watching paradise

Despite being a birding hotspot, Changaram hardly gets any attention -- it does not record a lot of tourist footfalls, and a plea to declare the region as a bird sanctuary has long been overlooked. Abhijith VM reports. 

In 2022, Birda, a UK-based free-to-use birdwatching mobile application, compiled a list of 12 Top Birding Locations in the world. Based on the data provided by Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the list ranked Changaram in Kerala in eighth place, with 121,115 bird sightings.

Changaram, located just 800 meters from the coastline of the Arabian Sea, constitutes a group of sprawling 250-acre wetlands within Ezhupunna in Alappuzha, a tourist hub known for its lagoons and the long stretch of canals.

Despite being a birding hotspot, Changaram hardly gets any attention -- it does not record a lot of tourist footfalls, and a plea to declare the region as a bird sanctuary has long been overlooked. The only signboard announcing Changaram as a birding location is faded and serves no purpose. From the outside, Changaram is a typical coastal village with a scant population, empty roads, and the arresting hue of turquoise.

In summer, however, Changaram will turn into a birdwatching paradise when the shrimp farmers drain out wetlands after the harvest in March, making way for wintering birds. Then, both amateur and seasoned birders flock to Changaram, hoping to click a perfect photo or refresh their avian friends' list. 

The cacophony of birds and the long line of diligent onlookers will continue for the next two months until the arrival of the South-west monsoon in June. Changaram is visited by around 66 species of waterbirds, finds the Asian Waterbird Census 2023, a citizen-science survey conducted by Birders Ezhupunna, a local birders' community with the support of Kerala Forest Department's Social Forestry Wing. The total number of bird species found in Changaram is around 213, according to the birders' community.

The most common migratory birds found in Changaram are Painted storks, Pelicans, gulls, and terns, says Sudheesh Mohan, a birder, and a member of Birders Ezhupunna.

"We have counted over 500 Painted storks this season. Also, we spotted 80-plus Pelicans. Then, Black-tailed godwits. We have counted over 5000 of them. They are in the Near Threatened category in the IUCN list and are known for flying over thousands of kilometers," says Sudheesh, who has been a birder for over seven years.

Birders Ezhupunna came into existence in 2014 when Christer Olsson, a Swedish birder, and his team visited Changaram. Sumesh B, an Ezhupunna native, took the party on a tour of Changaram.

"It was an eye-opening experience," reflects Sumesh. "Christer was crazy about birds. He could even identify the Common tailorbird by its call."

Before his departure, Olsson gifted Sumesh a pair of binoculars and a handbook to identify birds. Next year, Olsson returned to Ezhupunna to a surprise: Sumesh had gathered a group of his friends to start a bird-watching group. Impressed, Olsson gave more binoculars and helped the group with the initial funding to pursue birding.

Today, Sumesh says, Birders Ezhupunna has over 100 members. The community plays an important role in promoting birding and publishing citizen-science surveys on the wetland birds in Changaram and Alappuzha.

When I visited Changaram, one side of the wetlands was drained, exposing the mudflats -- an ideal condition for migratory birds to forage. Hundreds of gulls loitered in the mucky ground, watched by larger birds silently contemplating their next move. 

On the opposite side, across the thin strip of land fields remained waterlogged. Several birds slowly swam on the shallow water; loner birds occupied stumps sticking out from the water; and occasionally, painted storks and pelicans took off from the seats and flew over the electric lines before landing on a more comfortable patch of land elsewhere.

Away from the clamour of migratory birds, native waterbirds wandered through the vast fields. Over 60 species of native wetland birds are found year-round in Changaram, says Arjun Suresh, a student at the College of Forestry at Kerala Agricultural University in Thrissur. The lesser whistling duck, cotton pygmy goose, Indian spot-billed duck, grey-headed swamphen, the list of native waterbirds goes on.

Alappuzha is a major wintering spot for migratory waterbirds, says Arjun Suresh, who also hails from the district.

"Alappuzha has a minimal forest cover with scattered patches of thickets, but the long stretch of wetlands and its proximity to the Arabian Sea attracts aquatic birds. There are local migratory birds, winter migratory birds, and birds like the Amur Falcon, which use this region as a passageway in its migratory path," he said.

Gulls, one of the most commonly sighted migratory birds in Changaram, belong to the group of shore birds, explains Arjun.

"Normally, four kinds of gulls are spotted in Changaram -- brown-headed gull, black-headed gull, Pallas's gull, and Slender-billed gull. Distinctive with their white and black/brown plumage, the gulls are exclusive migratory birds in Changaram, starting their wintering journey from the Palearctic realm."

The painted stork, a tall bird with a long down-curved yellow beak, is a regular in Changaram. It has a Near Threatened status on IUCN Red List. Arjun says the birds have a considerable breeding population in Tamil Nadu’s Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary.

"It is a bird everyone is curious about. It easily gets people's attention. In Tamil Nadu villages close to sanctuaries, people consider the bird sacred. With their orange beak and strange looks, Painted storks are instantly noticeable. I think the painted stork is the image we all have when we picture a migratory bird," says Arjun.

The best time to do birding is in the morning when the birds feed. Birdwatchers come to Changaram early in the morning to book their places behind the bushes. These days, the prized catch is Spot-billed pelicans. The Near Threatened Spot-billed pelicans are easy to spot, thanks to their striking size. Even though the greyish birds spot the iconic saggy beaks, they are not as attractive as their popular cousin, the white pelican.

Sumesh B, the president of Birders Ezhupunna, says they were the first to identify pelican nesting in Kerala.

"In 2014, Birders Ezhupunna identified pelican nesting in Kandakkadav near Kochi. It’s a very common bird found in other South Indian states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In Kerala, however, the number of pelicans was low. But in our recent counting in Changaram, we spotted 82 pelicans."

The most celebrated sighting in Changaram in recent years was Flamingos. The magnificent pink-coloured Greater Flamingos are a treat to the eyes but are hard to find. Lesser flamingo, the smallest among the Flamingo family, was first spotted in Kerala in Changaram, claims Sumesh.

"Flamingos rarely come to Kerala. They are mostly found in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. A couple of years ago, we received three Flamingos in Changaram. They are very inconsistent in their visit," adds Sumesh.

Flamingos can also upstage other birds as they have a 'celebrity status', says Arjun Suresh.

"When Flamingos come, the word will spread fast. Photographers would rush to Changaram. Last time, when Flamingos were spotted, within a few hours, Changaram was filled with photographers. Some even ventured into the muddy fields to click a picture. Disturbed by the attention, the birds flew away."

But researchers and birdwatchers root for more elusive birds. For example, the blue-cheeked bee-eater, a slender migratory bird noted for its striking blue cheeks and the black mask-like strip highlighting the eyes.

"The logo of Birders Ezhupunna is a Blue-cheeked bee-eater," says Arjun. A rare visitor to South India, the Blue-cheeked bee-eater was sighted multiple times in Changaram.

"Once, it was hailed as the flagship bird of Changaram. Of the nearly 700 sightings of the bird in Kerala, 600 were here. And there was another bird, the Asian dowitcher, was first sighted in Kerala in these wetlands," notes Arjun.

Like the Flamingos, these elusive birds have not been sighted in Changaram in recent years. Alarmingly, the recent Asian Waterbird Census 2023 shows a declining trend in the number of birds visiting the region.

The author is part of Asianet News Digital Sales team