Flamingos turn Madurai pink, attracting bird lovers, tourists in droves

The ancient city of Madurai, famous for its magnificent temples, has turned pink this year with a large number of flamingos found actively feeding in the waterbodies in the area. This spectacular sight has made it special not just for local and bird lovers from outside but also tourists who are flocking in large numbers to watch this spectacle.

Apart from flamingos who started visiting this region in 2017, other migratory birds seen regularly in the Goripalayam check dam in Vaigai river, and Avaniyapuram and Karisalkulam tanks are pelicans, black-winged stilts, Asian openbill, egrets and migratory duck species.

From 2017 onwards, every year more than 50 flamingos are spotted in the region including Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli during the migratory season. This year the numbers have surged as the water levels in the tanks are sufficient to attract them.

Seeing this heartening increase in the avian population, local people have asked the administrator to preserve their habitats, especially the water bodies and ponds so that they keep visiting the region. Among the steps suggested by them includes preventing fishing activity in tanks during the migratory season, dumping of garbage and sewage in water bodies and banning crackers and loud sounds which disturb birds.