With the onset of winter season, the foreign guests of Killiyur village pond in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, have started arriving in large numbers. One of the favourite spots of birds for the last many years, their arrival has again spurred demand for declaring the place as a bird sanctuary by wildlife enthusiasts.

Among the thousands of birds spotted in this village pond are Garganey, Northern Pintail, Black-tailed Godwit, Northern Shoveller, and Brown Shrike. These birds have travelled all the way from several faraway Asian and European countries to live in the Killiyur pond for the season.

Besides the above bird species, others which are seen in the pond are open billed stork and pelicans.

According to wildlife experts, bird movement shows the robustness of the ecosystem of the pond as they migrate to those areas which have natural wealth.

Talking to the media, a senior forest official informed that a proposal had been sent to the Union Government to declare Killiyur as a bird sanctuary two years ago. He added that an active census of the birds will also be conducted shortly.

Apart from this, initiatives will be taken to raise awareness among the people about the importance of birds.