Imagine yourself amid mist-laden forests, a meandering river, and the
melodious calls of blue, black, scarlet, and white-winged creatures,
then you are definitely in the midst of Malenad, the heart of Western
Ghats. On a personal trip to Shivamogga town, I could not resist taking
an early morning break and traversing the mesmerizing green route from
Shivamogga to Tirthahalli.
|
| Mandagadde |
Despite my friend Vinayak desisting me from visiting Mandagadde, I just decided to take a peek at this island in River Tunga, hoping to see some remnants of this bird paradise. Although I was disappointed, the 30-KM-journey to this island revealed the presence of a few varieties of birds that somehow compensated for the huge loss.
|
| Mandagadde |
Once a paradise for birds, the Mandagadde Bird Sanctuary is now
in a condition wherein birds hardly drop in for nesting and breeding.
The reason is very clear as trees are submerged under rising levels of
the Tunga river with no space for breeding. But still one can see some
wagtails, swallows, egrets, darters, and cormorants flying and
splashing in the swift, high currents of the river. The whole island
has a forgotten look with the tourist facilities and watchtowers in a
state of disrepair.
|
| Mandagadde |
But for me, this did not make much of a difference as the foggy
and misty island spooked me to soak into the eerie surroundings where
the remaining trees stood like sentinels of a forgotten empire. Amid the
guzzling sound of the Tunga waters, the misty cool landscape reminded me
of a mysterious and sunken ghost island. Even as I focussed my attention
on the few trees, bereft of all its leaves, birds still came fluttering
and sat on for some time and then maybe, flew away to nearby lakes and
tanks.
|
| A misty morning in Mandagadde |
I could just make out some four or five bird species on a cold and
drizzling morning even as the whole sanctuary turned silent after some
time. I felt sad as this island had once been a great habitat for many
local, native and migratory birds a decade back. But with the rise in
the height of the nearby dam, this island got submerged while many trees
went underneath the swirling waters permanently.
|
| Darter |
|
| Wire Tailed Swallows |
|
| Darters |
As a result, many birds have shunned coming here for breeding and nesting and instead migrated to nearby places. And to my surprise, you can see them in the wetlands as you traverse between Shivamogga and Tirthahalli.
How To Reach There
Mandagadde is 324 kilometers from Bengaluru and about 36 km from
Shivamogga town. Situated on Mangaluru-Shivamogga highway (NH-169),
Mandagadde in Tirthahalli taluk is just about 16 km from the
Sakrebailu elephant camp.
More in Part-2
Location map:
Amazing!!! Stunning perspective, great insights, thank you for enlightening.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written about mandagadde. Hope malenadu goes back to its glory and greenery it once had.
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