The Panamaram heronry is perhaps the most diverse heronry in the State owing to its large diversity of species.
As many as nine species have been found breeding here over a period of five decades. The breeding birds in the heronry include the Black-headed Ibis and Intermediate Egrets, but other species such as Night Heron, Little Egret, Pond Heron, Purple Heron, Large Egret, Little Cormorant, and Cattle Egret are also recorded here.
Close to 700 nests were recorded in the annual heronry survey conducted by the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology recently, C.K. Vishnudas, an ornithologist and director of the centre told The Hindu.
Earlier, species like Lesser Whistling Duck, Jacanas, and Moore hens were also common here, but those species disappeared owing to the anthropogenic intervention and destruction of the avian habitat, he added.
However, extreme rainfall and flash floods have adversity affected the island heronry on the Panamaram river.
The floods of 2018 and 2019 caused the sliding of banks. Regular flash floods due to climate change are further aggravating the situation, Mr. Vishnudas said.
During the survey, local residents complained of poaching of birds during night hours, he added .
Though the district administration in 2018 adopted steps to declare the site a community reserve to conserve the heronry, it was yet to be taken forward owing to the alleged apathy of authorities, R.L. Ratheesh, an ornithologist who led the survey, said. Wayanad once had 15 heronries, but the Panamaram heronry was the lone heronry in the district now, he said. A sharp decline in paddy growing areas and unsafe breeding sites were the major reasons for the decline, he said.
Measures such as night patrol to stop poaching of birds, planting bamboo seedlings to mitigate floods, and stringent steps against filling of wetlands would help conserve the avian habitat, he added.
