Lets take a walk in paradise - Nelapattu Birds Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh

Watching birds, one of the adorable creatures, feeding and nurturing their kids beside a pristine landscape is always wonderful. One such place is Nelapattu Birds’ Sanctuary and it's not very far from Chennai.

Nelapattu Birds' Sanctuary, Pelican Paradise as they call it, is one of the most popular birding spots in India. It is located across the eastern coast of Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh. It is named after the village Nelapattu, which is located adjacent to Asia’s second largest salt water lake, Pulicat, which is another birders’ paradise.

Birds migrate for various reasons. It might be for the search of food or to escape freezing winter conditions or in search of apt breeding ground. Whatever it is, it does it in groups; birds migrate as huge flocks. And trust me, these fellows are extremely intelligent. They leaf through the place from aerial angle considering the structure of water body and its vastness in food. If the availability of food is low or the water body is polluted or anything that doesn't match up with their expectations, they move onto the next place without wasting much time.

Nelapattu Birds Sanctuary serves as an ideal breeding ground for these winged migrants with its flourishing marine ecosystem.

Among all the winter migrants, spot-billed pelicans, painted stork, white-headed ibis, Eurasian spoonbills and open-billed stork are the most prominent species that nest at Nelapattu Birds Sanctuary.

Spot-billed pelicans generally inhabit in deep and shallow wetlands, fresh as well as saline water ecosystem. They prefer breeding in tall trees and feed on fishes. As you enter the sanctuary, you shall be greeted with over lakh species of spot-billed pelicans seated calmly over the branches of the trees feeding or playing with their kids. Now you know why it is named as Pelican Paradise! If not, visit the place, experience the charm and you will know it!

Binoculars are a must for this place or else you will never enjoy it to the fullest. If you do not have any, lend it from AP forest department rangers. They even offer spotting scopes so make use of their assistance.

Reaching Nelapattu is not a tiring process, especially for Chennaitians. You can take a train till Sullurpet. Suburban trains from central station will take two hours; express/mail will take an hour or less to reach Sullurpet. Lots of government buses are there from Sullurpet to Nelapattu, which will take less than forty-five minutes to reach the spot; you can also hire auto rickshaws from Sullurpet to reach Nelapattu birds sanctuary. During Flamingo Festival, AP government offers free shuttle services from Sullurpet to Nelapattu Birds Sanctuary for the benefit of the visitors.

Remember, Nature protects us. We cannot protect nature at any point of time. Instead we can stop polluting and let them flourish thereby letting them protect us.

Stop littering, Start worshiping!