Migratory birds shy away from Chintapalli, leaves villagers worried

“The arrival of migratory birds means a lot to the village as we believe it is a good omen for a better crop season for us," informed a farmer Nagaiah.

Khammam: The residents of Chintapalli village in Khammam Rural mandal in the district are a worried lot. The reason: migratory birds which used to make the village their summer home every year are shying away from the village for the last couple of years. Loss of habitat and a growing monkey menace is keeping the birds away from the village, one of the few nesting spots for the birds in Telangana.

Usually the birds in thousands arrive at the village by the end of December. Their arrival is preceded by the visit of pilot birds that ensures the local habitat is suitable for roosting and breeding, said the local guide and watcher Rayapati Rama Krishna.

Chintapalli, derives its name from a large number of tamarind (Chinta chettu) trees and also got a good number of neem trees that offers a good canopy for the birds to lay eggs, hatch and raise the hatchlings before returning to their native habitat. The presence of Dubalamma tank in the village makes it an ideal spot for the birds to breed as they get enough food. The summer sojourn of the birds to the village has been continuing for hundreds of years, Rama Krishna informed.

But the villagers, troubled by the monkeys, were forced to cut down tamarind trees. The Forest department stopped giving permission to cut the trees in 2012. Incidentally, the same monkeys have also turned a pain in the neck for the migratory birds.

“The birds are perturbed as monkeys damage their nests and eggs. In the first week of December, a few pilot birds came and went back. Efforts to catch and relocate monkeys failed due to political issues,” Rama Krishna told ‘Telangana Today’.

Normally the village used to witness a buzz of activity with chirping of birds and visits of tourists to watch them by this time. But there is an eerie silence in the village now. The same was the situation last year, he worried.

Painted storks and black-necked storks – classified as near threatened in terms of conservation status, Asian woolly-necked storks- classified as vulnerable and Asian openbill storks, found in Indian subcontinent and Asia, were among the birds mostly visiting the village, besides others, he said.

“The arrival of migratory birds means a lot to the village as we believe it is a good omen for a better crop season for us. Last year, the local farmers suffered a fall in yield as well threats from pests,” informed a farmer Nagaiah.