Author Details: K. Abhisheka, Ecologist, trained artist and also an urban wildlife rehabilitator. She uses her experience in field ecology and the medium of art to reach out to people on conservation related issues. She is currently a freelancer. J. Patrick David, Ecologist, currently working as project co-ordinator with Care Earth Trust, Chennai. His responsibility is to survey for birds in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu and identify birding hotspots. M.B. Prashanth, interested in avian diversities in wetlands and is currently working on the mapping of wetlands and their habitat characteristics in relation to diversity and abundance of waterbirds. Has been involved in the co-ordination, surveying and compiling reports of the mid-winter waterbird census in the Tamiraparni river basin. Currently with ATREE. K.S. Seshadri, Ecologist, primarily interested in understanding how human actions alter the ecosystems. As a Graduate student, he is studying the ecology and behavior of red-listed amphibians in the Western Ghats. Currently pursuing PhD at Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore. T. Ganesh, Ecologist, for over three decades, he has worked and advised students on various ecological aspects primarily focussing on plant-animal interaction; bird and primate ecology; ecological restoration and long term monitoring of forests. He has also authored a bilingual multi taxa field guide. He is currently a senior fellow at ATREE. Abstract:The semi-arid districts of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu consist of numerous wetlands in the form of irrigation tanks, interconnected by an ancient network of canals, and fed by the rivers originating from the Western Ghats. While these irrigation tanks have socio-economic and cultural significance, very little is known of their ecological importance. These tanks have the potential to harbor good populations of resident and wintering waterbirds but no studies have been done to confirm this. A survey was carried out in 230 irrigation tanks of various sizes in the two districts from November 2008 to January 2011. A total of 83 waterbird species were recorded. Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii occurred in most of the surveyed tanks. Large concentrations of wintering waterfowl such as Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope, Northern Pintail Anas acuta, Garganey Anas querquedula were recorded in tanks closer to the coast. Based on our survey, six sites with large waterbird concentrations have been identified, one of which is Vagaikulam, an active heronry currently under threat from tree felling. These sites along with associated wetlands are important for the long term conservation of waterbirds in the region.
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