Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission

Bird Sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu

All the sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu including Point Calimere, Vedanthangal and Pulicat are significant for nesting of resident birds. Koonthankulam and Karaivetti sanctuaries support thousands of migratory ducks and geese as well. Sanctuaries like Vedanthangal are situated amidst agrarian landscapes and birds spend the day out there in the fields feeding and return back to the lake in the evening for shelter. Out of 223 species of birds recorded from the coastal wetlands of India, the highest number of species was recorded from the east coast. The order Charadriiformes was highest in dominance followed by Falconiformes and Ciconiiformes. 31 threatened birds species were recorded from the coastal wetlands. Hence, there is a need to protect coastal and marine areas with high priority conservation for future research on bird communities.

The brief details of Bird Sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu (as on 01-01-2016) are stated below:

Sl. No	Name of Sanctuary	Area in ha	Legal status	G.O.Ms. No.in which declared	District in which located	Major Species found	Section of Wildlife (Protection) Act under which declared
1	Vedanthangal Birds Sanctuary	30.000	PWD TANK	199 E&F Department dated 3.7.98	Kanchee puram	Cormorants, egrets, grey heron, Open billed stork, Pelicans, migratory birds like garguney, teals, shovallers	Final notification issued u/s 26A(1)
2	Karikili Birds Sanctuary	61.210	PWD TANK	332 E&F Department dated 23.5.89	Kanchee puram	Cormorants, egrets, grey heron, spoon billed stork,	18(1)
3	Vettangudi birds Sanctuary	38.400	PWD TANK	574 E&F Department dated 3.6.77	Sivagangai	Cormorants, egrets, herons, teals, pelicans	18(1)
4	Kanjirankulam Birds Sanctuary	104.000	PWD TANK	684 E&F Department Dated 21.9.89	Ramanatha puram	Cormorants, egrets, herons, teals, pelicans	18(1)
5	Chitrangudi Birds Sanctuary	47.630	PWD TANK	684 E&F Department dated 21.9.89	Ramanatha puram	Cormorants, egrets, herons, teals, pelicans	18(1)
6	Udayamarthanda puram Birds Sanctuary	45.280	PWD TANK	379 E&F Department dated 31.12.98	Tiruvarur	Little cormorant, darter, spoon bill, Indian Reef Heron, Grey heron, white necked stork	Final notification issued u/s 26A(1)
7	Vaduvoor birds Sanctuary	128.100	PWD TANK	169 E&F Department dated 22.7.99	Tiruvarur	Cormorants, egrets, ibis, herons and many variety of birds	Final notification issued under section 26A(1)
8	Koonthankulam- Kadankulam Birds Sanctuary	129.000	PWD TANK	301 E&F Department dated 30.11.94	Tirunelveli	Grey pelican, painted stork, white Ibis, jackal, rat snake	18(1)
9	Karaivetti Birds Sanctuary	453.710	PWD TANK	92 E&F Department Dated 5.4.99	Arialur	Egrets, pelican, Grey heron, White Ibis, Spoon bill	18(1)
10	Vellode Birds Sanctuary	77.180	PWD TANK	44 E&F Department dated 29.2.2000	Erode	Spoon bill, Teals, Pintail ducks, Darter	Final notification issued u/s 26A(1)
11	Melaselvanur- Kilaselvanur Birds Sanctuary	593.080	PWD TANK	57 E&F Department dated 10.3.98	Ramanatha puram	Grey Pelican, Painted Stork	18(1)
12	Theerthangal Bird Sanctury	29.290	PWD TANK	G.O.Ms No.220 E&F Department dated 15.12.2010	Ramanatha puram	White -breasted Kingfisher, Spot- billed Pelican, Brahminy Kite	18(1)
13	Sakkarakottai Tank Birds Sanctuary	230.490	PWD TANK	G.O.Ms. No 114 E&F Department dated 17-04-2012	Ramanatha puram	Spot billed Pelican, Egret, Common Myna, Grey Heron , Little Cormorant, Black Kite etc	18( 1 )
14	Oussudu Lake Birds Sanctaury	331.785	PWD TANK	G.O.Ms. No 49 E&F Department dated 31-03-2015	Villupuram	Spot billed Pelican, Egret, Common Myna, Grey Heron , Little Cormorant, Black Kite etc	18( 1 )
15	Pulicat Lake Birds Sanctuary	15367.000	LAKE	1247E&F Department dated 22.9.80	Tiruvallur	Spot billed Pelican, Egret, Common Myna, Grey Heron , Little Cormorant, Black Kite etc	18( 1 )
	Total	17666.155