An entire village in Jajpur district plays host to nesting birds, which arrive for four months every year. The locals consider them auspicious and take pains to protect them.
At first glance, Dhanamandal village appears to be typical like any village with cattle, dusty tracks and small thatched houses. However, a closer look reveals its unique feature: Every tree in the village is covered by hundreds of nesting birds and the whole village resounds with their chirping and twittering and flapping of wings.
"This village is a natural sanctuary amidst human habitation for egrets, herons, storks, cormorants, darters, spoonbills, ibises and other species of birds. About 12,000 birds are nesting at present.
Birds stay from June to September. Since there are no forests here, the birds crowd the trees around the houses of the village. The birds return each year for nesting, since they find the village to be safe where they are protected from any predators, animals and even human beings. The villagers take every care of the winged guests", said Prasanta Sahoo of Dhanmandal.
The nesting birds make a pretty picture in Dhanamandal. They are very attractive birds with huge wing spans and a beautiful rose pink color on the wings and shoulders. Storks breed in large colonies, and the nests are close to each other. In nearby trees, the pelicans have massive circular nests, filled with noisy chicks. It is a magical sight seeing them soaring and circling in the sky, alighting in the fields and tanks for food, and then back to their hungry fledglings, said Dr Manzoor Alli, a social worker of Jajpur.
"This village is a prime example of people’s initiative and participation in protecting and cherishing the rich avian life that the village has been playing host to for several years. The passion and commitment of the people is a powerful reminder that conservation is everybody's business and not to be left to star campaigners and scientists," said Sudhanshu Parida, an environmentalist and secretary of the district unit of Peoples for Animal (PFA).
Watching these birds make and mend nests, collect green branches for building and repairing the nests, lay, incubate, hatch eggs, feed fledglings, guard them from predators, cover them with outspread wings to protect them from scorching sunrays and heavy downpour is a sight to behold.
The Kelue river flows near the village and the surrounding area is having a few ponds and a lot of agricultural fields. All these provide food (fish) for the nesting birds which have been visiting the village for the past 5-6 years with their number increasing every passing year. The villagers are interested in protecting, nursing and feeding the orphaned birds, said Bivas Nanda, a villager.
The birds are important to the villagers, here, and in order to preserve their natural habitat, trees are maintained for the birds to roost and nest on.The villagers protect the birds as they believe they are symbols of prosperity, added Nanda.