My Blog: Shanthi: Kokkaraibelluru

Have you heard of this place, Kokkeraibelluru? You might not have! It is 90 kms from Bangalore on Mysore road and 7 kms before reaching Maddur, you take a left turn and travel another 13 kms and there you are, at Kokkaraibelluru.

It is basically a small village, where every year by September-October hundreds of birds come to roost, raise their young ones, feed them with fish from the nearby ponds and leave just before monsoon starts in May.

‘Kokkerai’ in Kannada means stork; ‘bellu’ is white and ‘uru’ is village. It is the village of white stork. Most of the birds are Painted Storks and they have snow white plumage. Their scientific name, if you would care to know, is Ibis leucocephalus. Along with them lot of spot-billed pelicans and other smaller birds, including Cormorants also nest here.

Painted storks have been declared as endangered species of birds and this village is one of the 21 breeding sites in India. There are a few tanks or ponds near by the village, Tailur kere (kere means pond or tank in Kannada), Maddur kere, and Sole kere, which provide the fish feed for the birds.

The birds nest in the tall trees of tamarind and ficus in the village, but have free access to the village homes and their back yards. The birds and the villagers have co-existed harmoniously for decades in this village. The birds are said to return to the same nest year after year.

Some 15 years back I had gone to the village once and I returned with wonderful images of the big birds sitting on the rooftops of houses and huts in the village, with the house owners and their friends sitting right below them and chatting. It was as if these birds were their friends or visitors who had come visiting!

I heard that the villagers do not harm these birds and they welcome them as seasonal visitors who stay for 4-6 months around their houses. The villagers believe that these birds bring good luck and prosperity to the village. They also get to collect some bird droppings, guano, which serve them as manure for their nearby agricultural fields.

There was even a small enclosure to treat the sick and wounded birds and forest department kept an eye on them. The department also pays the villagers small compensation for any damage to their trees or loss of tamarind harvest.

This year it suddenly occurred to me that I must go and visit the birds in the village. So, in the first week of June, I rented a cab and hurried to the place for I knew that the season was ending. When I reached the village, to my dismay I found that the birds had indeed left, but I did get to see some stragglers on the tree tops and a few taking lazy walks behind the houses.

They were big birds. I was happy to get to see at least some of them. The villagers grieved that this year because of the continuous and severe summer temperatures, the nearby ponds had dried up and the birds left early. There were a lot of casualty too. That was sad indeed.

After walking around the village and taking pictures of the lazily walking birds, and those sitting on the top of the trees, I returned, not before halting at a nice restaurant on the way back to feast on the famous Maddur Vada and a nice and strong cup of coffee.

Hmm, it was worth it. So, guys and gals living near Bangalore and Mysore, make it a point to visit this hidden place to view these amazing birds. Just go early in the season, so mark your calendars, October to May 2018! February to April could be the best season to visit them though.