Vedathangal Bird Sanctuary-Chennai

Vedanthangal Water Birds Sanctuary is the oldest and the most spectacular breeding grounds for birds in India. The sanctuary is spread over 73 acres .Vedathangal Bird Sanctuary is 90 minutes journey from Chennai. The sanctuary is the nest for various local and migratory birds. The vegetation, the pool and the ambience attracts birds and make them to stay in this place.The pools contains large number of water fowls and ducks. The sanctuary was established by the British government in the year 1798 to protect these birds from being extinct. Every year, a large number of migratory birds approximately around 40,000 in number like the Grey Heron, Cormorant, Egrets, Darter, Open-billed Stork, Spoonbill, White Ibis, Grebes, Night Herons and Grey Pelican visit this Sanctuary.It is very fascinating to watch the behaviour of these birds.We can spot a Cormorant or a Snake Bird dive under the water to gobble up fishes.After that the Cormorant must comes up to the shore dry its feathers. The Spot-Billed Grey Pelican always moves in groups and drives the fishes to a corner for gobbling them in the end.The Spoon Bill feasts on frogs and insects in the muddy water . This is a small sanctuary which is spread at about 2 square kms. This small sanctuary is the ideal place to walk and spot birds in their natural habitat. There are two watch towers from where the stretched area can be seen and experienced.You can have a good view with the binoculars. It will be better to have a binocular, but even if you don’t have one you can borrow them for rent.
How to get there : Chennai is the nearest airport .The nearest railway station is is Chinglepet (26 km). You can also reach there by boarding a bus from Chinglepet also.
When to visit : The best season to visit is from November to January.
Where to stay : Accommodation is available at the Forest Department Rest House or Hotel Tamil Nadu of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation