Kukkarahalli Lake - Bird Watching

Bird Watching

The lake was once a big attraction to bird watchers. According to Naturalists, about 176 species of birds (a large number of them migratory birds, including birds from Siberia) with 10,000 to 15,000 of them visited the lake during winter to roost. Organised bird watching expeditions around the lake used to be actively pursued by the Mysore Amateur Naturalists (MAN) Association. In recent years, with the lake getting into a eutrophic state (though since restored), the number of birds visiting the lake has substantially decreased. Now, the number of birds visiting the lake has reduced to about 2,000. They are found to breed in the isolated bird island. The birds now found in the lake (some of the birds are pictured in the gallery) are Spot-billed Pelicans, Little Cormorant, Painted Storks, Openbill Storks, Eurasian Spoonbills, Black-crowned Night Herons and Oriental Darters. Birdlife International has included Kukkarahalli Lake in the list of 38 important Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the State or Karnataka.