Migratory birds stay away from Khammam’s Chintapalli for third year

The main reason, according to locals, is the monkey menace besides loss of habitat as well as urbanisation wherein real estate ventures are coming up near Chintapalli village

Khammam: Migratory birds which usually make Chintapalli village their summer home in Khammam Rural mandal in the district are staying away from the village for the third year in a row.

The main reason, according to locals, is the monkey menace besides loss of habitat as well as urbanisation wherein real estate ventures are coming up near the village. Every year by the end of December, the village comes alive with the arrival of thousands of birds for nesting.

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Their arrival is preceded by the visit of pilot birds that ensure the local habitat is suitable for roosting and breeding. Like it happened in the last couple of years, a few pilot birds arrived but returned soon and there is no sign of birds coming to the village this year either, local guide and watcher Rayapati Rama Krishna said.

He said Chintapalli derives its name from a large number of tamarind (Chinta chettu) trees, which offer a safe shelter to the migratory birds. To keep monkeys away, the villagers cut the trees jeopardising the very name of the village.

The Dubalamma tank in the village makes it an ideal spot for the birds to breed as they get enough food but the water level in the tank also receded. The main cause of worry for birds is monkeys damaging their eggs and nests and there is no solution to the problem, Rama Krishna told Telangana Today.

Chintapalli village, which is one of the few nesting spots for the birds in Telangana, used to be visited by a large number of tourists and bird watchers. As birds did not turn up, tourists are also not visiting the village.

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 the Indian subcontinent and Asia, are among the birds mostly visiting the village, he said.

Rama Krishna informed that the villagers and farmers believe that the arrival of migratory birds augurs well for a better crop season. A big signboard put up by the Forest department at the village stands as a mute spectator for the birds’ connection to the village.