Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary – Birder’s Paradise Near Tirunelveli 

Montagu’s Harrier flying over the grasslands surrounding the Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary.

Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary is a small sanctuary of size 1.29 sq.km located near Nanguneri in Tamilnadu. This sanctuary is a wonderful place to see migratory birds like Comb duck, Bar-headed Goose and Harriers. When in Chennai, we visit Vedanthangal frequently to see birds. Similarly, when in Nagercoil we visit Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary frequently. Like Vedanthangal, this bird sanctuary also surprises us everytime. In Koonthankulam, the bird sanctuary is not the only place worth looking for, but also the nearby grasslands and numerous lakes. This is a semi-arid region, so the terrain changes beautifully with the weather. During wet season, all lakes will be full and the grounds will be carpeted with unique wildflowers. During dry season, the grasslands are the best place to see raptors and the ground birds like Quails, Francolins.

Sometimes during peak rainy season in Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary, the Painted Storks even nesting on the roofs of the houses in the villages. The Villagers also were very proud about the birds nesting in their houses even though there were few discomforts. These villagers also don’t burst crackers for Diwali like people in Vedanthangal.

Koonthankulam is always full of surprises. During our numerous trips to Koonthankulam, we had seen Fan-throated Lizard, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Indian Courser, Flamingoes, Bar-headed Goose, Knob-billed Duck, Harrier, lots of butterflies and wildflowers. When we were searching Fan-throated Lizard in Sahayadri Mountains, Sandgrouse and Courser in Rajasthan, all these were right under our nose in Nanguneri, so close to our hometown Nagercoil. Sometimes you don’t have to travel too long to see wonders. Here are few of our experiences in Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary.

Fan throated lizard

One time when we went there was no water in the ponds and lakes, so no birds inside the sanctuary. So we went for a drive to the nearby grassland section. We were searching for birds but we found something bright on the ground. To our surprise it was the fan throated lizard Visiri, and it was showing off its neck flap. When we went to Sahayadri we were searching for fan-throated lizard and didn’t find any. We didn’t know the fan-throated lizards were in South India and that too in Koonthankulam. We were so happy to see this lizard in a place so close to our hometown.

Comb duck

Comb ducks are one of the largest ducks found in India. They are easily identified by the big knob on the beak. This duck is otherwise called as Knob-billed Duck.

During peak migration time, the Comb ducks can be seen on the palm trees building nests. They look quite beautiful in the grasslands where they feed.  Unlike other migratory birds which migrate to escape the winter in North, these ducks engage in lateral migration following the rains and reach Africa and then come back to India. 

Bar-headed Goose

The Bar-headed goose is one of the world’s highest-flying birds and their summer habitat is high-altitude lakes where the bird grazes on short grass.

The Bar-headed Goose who flies so high is the important celebrity in Koonthankulam during migration period. Several times we had searched for this bird and went back empty handed. But finally we saw a flock of Bar-headed Goose in a lake in Koonthankulam. The Bar-headed Goose has loud honking sound which can be heard from distant. So we chased the sound and spotted the flock.

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse are masters of dry terrain and they require very little water to survive. With their color they perfectly merge with the terrain making them very hard to spot. If not for small movements they are literally invisible.

When we went to Jaisalmer, we were searching for Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse and when we went to Keoladeo National Park we were searching for Indian Courser. Later, we saw all these birds in Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary itself. Nanguneri is a very dry region, so the forest is dry scrub forest. Quails, Francolins, Sandgrouses, Indian Coursers all prefer dry scrub forest and they all are well camouflaged with the sandy terrain. All these birds usually move around in flocks. These birds are always in high alert mode, so the moment they hear some sound they will fly away. When we were casually driving around the Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary, suddenly we saw a movement in the ground and it looked like the entire ground was moving. When we looked closer, it was a flock of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse. When we were in Jaisalmer, we were searching for these sandgrouses in the hot sun and finally just got a glimpse of them. Again, Koonthakulam is full of surprises. Similarly, Indian Courser also we had seen it in Chennai and Keoladeo National Park never this close and casually like in Koonthankulam. They were roaming around freely and we were so happy to see the well camouflaged Indian Courser.

Little Tree Flower

Koonthankulam is famous for birds, but we as wildflower lovers meticulously search for wildflowers wherever we go. Can you imagine this Biophytum nervifolium was found in the dry Nanguneri region!

We usually search for wildflowers in all terrains. But in Koonthankulam we were fully focused on birds. Still, so many colorful flowers came into our view.We didn’t expect so many wildflowers in one of the driest regions in Tamilnadu. We had seen Osbeckia zeylanica, Biophytum nervifolium, Barleria cuspidata, Striga gesnerioides, Aponogeton bruggenii  and many other wildflowers around Koonthankulam region.

Joker Butterfly

Joker butterflies are primarily found in drier regions of the country and their range extend even to parts of Africa. The area around Koonthankulam bird sanctuary is a nice place to do butterfly watching as the wild bushes support numerous species.

If there are wildflowers, then there will be butterfiles. During butterfly season, one can find abundant butterflies around Koonthankulam region. The Joker, Yellow Pancy, Blue Pancy butterflies make the dry Nanguneri region very colorful.  

Overall, Koonthankulam region is one of the birding hotspots in Tamilnadu particularly for raptors and migratory birds. But this place also faces threat with water scarcity. The water was diverted to the nearby Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant and in recent years there was very little or no water reaching Koonthankulam. We had seen Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary full to the brim 8 years back. That was the time, the birds were nesting even on the rooftops in the village houses. But we had never seen the sanctuary full with water again. Obviously, this resulted in lesser number of birds nesting in Koonthankulam. Now Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary also joins the human-wildlife conflict region and with climate change happening all over the world, we are not sure what the future will hold for this place!