Mangalajodi, a fishing hamlet near Tangi, in the Khurda district of Orissa, famous for the huge congregations of winter migrants on its wetlands was untill a few years ago, a non-nondescript location in the map. Only a closed circle of bird-watchers knew about this location, passing on the information by word of mouth. The marshlands that envelope Mangalajodi is the destination for hundreds of species of migratory birds primarily Water fowls, waders and other wetland birds, which start arriving in the winter months and reach a peak of 1.5 lac birds in the month of January.
The wetland is under the care of the Shree Shree Mahavir Pakshi Surakha Samiti (SSMPSS) constituted by Wildlife Orissa In 2002, which provides entry permits and guides for boat rides into the wetland. You will be surprised to know that these benevolent field-guides armed with a pair of binoculars and copies of Salim Ali's The Book of Indian Birds' are formerh ardcore Shikaris (Poachers). This humble operation is the brain child of Mr. Nanda Kishore Bhujbal, of Wild Life Orrisa whom the locals revere as their Local Guru. The local fisherman used to find it hard to subside on finishing alone and therefore used to resort to poaching Migratory birds. Mr. Bhujbal realised the the eco-tourism potential of the place and persuaded the Shikaris to give up the rampant killing of the birds and instead apply their keen instincts towards the protection of these birds and their wetland habitat. Under his erudite counsel the locals mindset has undergone a gradual transformation. Now this small hamlet is reaping the benefits of tourism generated by Photographers, Wildlife Enthusiasts, Naturalists who throng to Mangalajodi, every year to witness this spectacular migratory assemblage. Its this magical experience that has made these wetlands a
"Mecca for Bird-lovers".
Mr. Bhujbal, the man for this turn-around stood out as a simple and modest person, when we met him in person and shrugged off all the credit to the locals who have supported him and are diligently trying to protect this fragile ecosystem
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
It is very difficult to spot the blink-n-miss bend off the NH-5 leading into a remote road that winds its way through the rural landscape of paddy fields to Mangalajodi Village. Soon after reaching the Visiter's Center, we were asked to pay for permits and were instantly provided by a trained guide. It was a short distance from there to the Mangalajodi watch tower. The final lap of the dirt road that leads to it is an elevated mud embankment that cuts through the wetlands. As a result the sighting starts from the point you enter this final stretch. We started spotting birds in a frenzy, Purple Swamp-hens here, Glossy Ibises there, whiskered terns hovering one above the other, Open Billed Storks, Black winged stilts and ofcourse Godwits! The
Flagship species of Mangalajodi in lakhs!!
As our vehicle sped by we were desperately trying to spot and remember as many birds as we could. Wearing a gleeful expression, we were both thinking the same thing - we were spotting more lifers than we could count. The guide however seemed unaffected, hardly making an attempt to identify some of the birds that we were pointing out. We soon found out why. As we mounted the watch tower and took a look around we were dumbstruck by the sheer numbers of each species dotting the vast land space spread as far as we could see.
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We were soon bundled up into the hand rowed boats and were wading our way through the murky channels that intersperse the entire marshland. It was from this point that our guide's sharp spotting skills proved invaluable.The enthusiasm by which he was pointing out the birds and comparing them to the illustrations in Salim Ali's book for an immediate correlation made it a very interesting trip indeed.
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| To prevent over exploitation and disturbance of birds, "Designated streams or channels" have been Assigned for boat trips. |
We had missed the early morning trip so we took two trips one between 10am -1 pm and the other form 2 pm-4:00 PM. Most of the birds sighting were in the morning trip, when the sun was not so hot. By the time it was noon most of the birds had taken shelter along the tall grasses so visibility was a bit less. The sunset though was breath taking with swarms of Godwits, Stilts taking flight in cloud like formation. This swarms attract prey birds like Marsh Harriers, Brahmini Kites that cut through this mildew of birds trying to catch an easy prey. This twilight feeding frenzy is a sight to behold!!
This was a landmark trip for us. 25 of the 79 birds observed were lifers! Phenomenal! Mangalajodi offers a extraordinary experience that you can't live without at-least once a year.
Flocks of Ducks, Stilts, Egrets, Cormorants , Godwits , Sandpipers and Ruffs congregating at a single site are commonplace throughout the marshes.
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(In the pic: Flocks of Northern Pintail Male and Females, Egret, Black winged Stilt.)
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| Blue Throat |
The birds observed as follows:
1. Greylag Geese (L)
2. Ruddy Shelduck (L)
3. Gadwal
4. Garganey (L)
5. Northern Shoveler (L)
6. Nothern Pintail
7. Asian Openbill Stork
8. Black Headed Ibis
9. Glossy Ibis (L)
10. Black Tailed Godwit (L)
11. Black Winged Stilt. (L)
12. Ruff (L)
13. Little Ringed Plover (L)
14. Pacific Golden Plover. (L)
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| Baillons Crake |
16. Common Redshank (L)
17. Common Sandpiper
18. Marsh Sandpiper
19. Wood Sandpiper
20. Common Snipe
21. Brown Headed Gull (L)
22. River Tern (L)
23. Whiskered Tern (L)
24. Oriental Pratincole (L)
25. Baillons Crake (L)
26. Slaty Breasted Rail (L)
27. Ruddy Breasted Crake (L)
28. Brown Crake
29. Common Coot
30. Watercock (L)
31. White Breasted Waterhen
32. Purple Swamphen
33. Bronze winged jacana
34. Pheasant Tailed Jacana (juvenile)(L)
35. Yellow Bittern(L)
36. Indian Pond Heron
37. Grey Heron
38. Purple Heron
39. Cattle Egret
40. Intermediate Egret
41. Greater Egret
42. Indian Cormorant
43. Greater Cormorant
44. White Wagtail
45. Citrine Wagtail
46. Red-Wattled Lapwing
47. Grey Lapwing(L)
48. Common Kingfisher
49. White Breasted Kingfisher
50. Pied Kingfisher
51. Eurasian Marsh Harrier
52. Black Kite
53. Booted Eagle
54. Oriental Skylark(L)
55. Bengal Bushlark(L)
56. Paddyfield pipit
57. Clamorous Reed Warbler
58. Asian Palm Swift
59. Barn Swallow
60. Baya Weaver
61. Black Drongo
62. Blue Throat
63. Roufous Tree-pie
64. Greater coucal
65. Green Bee-Eater
66. Indian Silverbill
67. Lineated Barbet
68. Red Vented Bulbul
69. Red Whiskered Bulbul
70. Common Myna
71. Jungle myna
72. Chestnut Headed Starling
73. Pied Starling
74. Common Crow
75. Common House Sparrow
76. Hoopoe
77. Wire Tailed Swallow(L)
78. Ashy Crowned Sparrow Lark(L)
79. Common Tailor Bird
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