Bhubaneswar, July 31: While the temple of Goddess Sarala is a well known religious place in Jagatsinghpur district, areas near the age-old sacred place are also known for the community conservation initiatives. Here the local people safeguard the existence of several bird species.

Heronry refers to a nesting congregation of the colonial aquatic birds belonging to the Ardeidae family, which comprises herons, bitterns and egrets.

As the name of the deity Sarala is associated with poet Sarala Das in Oriya literature of Mahabharata fame, the significance of the place is well marked in every Oriya household. This conservation of aquatic birds near the religious place could add to the tourism angle and also prove beneficial for students of zoology and wildlife.

Rahama, 70km from the capital city, is well accessible by road. By train, one can reach Gorakhnath, which is 80km from Bhubaneswar. The local people may not have an idea about the scientific importance of the species they are conserving, yet they believe in the philosophy of live and let live.

Natural heronries are present in different places of Orissa, but detailed descriptions are not found. However, a large heronry of the Ardeidae family of birds has been reported by ecologist P.K. Dash of Vasundhara at Rahama, where the black-crowned night heron and all the three egrets have been nesting for decades.

Heronries may consist of a single or mixed species of water birds, which are important not only to the ornithologists, biologists and bird watchers, but also to the amateur photographers, reporters and tourists. Zoologists, ecologists and ornithologists conserve heronries by protecting their nesting and foraging grounds.

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called egrets or bitterns instead of herons. The black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), commonly called “night heron” in Eurasia, is medium-sized and found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia. The black-crowned night herons nest in colonies on platforms of sticks in a group of trees, or on the ground in protected locations such as islands.

At Rahama, the birds have been nesting in colonies along with cattle egret, little egret, intermediate egret and little cormorants in trees such as, silver date palm (khajuri), coconut trees and banyan trees, for several decades. The local people called the place as baga gahan. According to the local people, there has been a decline in the black-crowned night heron population for the past four to five years.

The status of the heron population is indicative of environmental conditions, owing to their high rank in the food chain. Apart from the black-crowned night heron, the baga gahana is famous for 10 most abundant species such as, little cormorant, little egret, great egret, intermediate egret, eastern cattle egret, Indian pond-heron, lesser whistling-duck, black bittern, chestnut bittern and cinnamon bittern. These birds build their nests in the nearby wetlands and trees and also breed there.

Nesting site

The heronry is located at Rahama near the Sarala Government College, where the black-crowned night herons build nests in trees.

The birds make their nests in these trees at an average height of 20ft to 30ft (in banyan trees). Similarly, the eastern cattle egrets and median egrets build their nests just aside of the gate of Sarala Temple, 6km from the main temple. The number of nests of each species and the number of nest per tree have not yet been confirmed. However, from the number of adults, it is estimated that at least there are 20 to 40 nests of the cormorants in each tree, four to eight of the black-crowned night herons in each coconut tree and 25 to 27 nests in ficus and cassia trees. The major nesting species of the heronry is the night heron, which live in association with the great cormorant, the pond heron and the little egret.

The cormorants, the little egrets and the pond herons use to forage at the rice fields, situated near the heronry and also in the college playground. Whereas, the night herons use to fly in flocks from dusk to dawn, about 2km to 5km away from Rahama to the Mahanadi river to feed.

“Herons and egrets remain luxury food items of human beings, causing mass destruction of the heronries. The local people are not killing them. Large heronries are often considered a nuisance, especially when these are located adjacent to the residential areas. However, the Rahama people have adjusted to stay with them,” said Hara Sahu, a computed professional working with an IT firm in Bhubaneswar.

The major conservation measures that can be taken to save the heronry are protection of the nesting site, the habitat and the foraging areas. Reducing human activities around the sites can also add to save the heronry.

Moreover, awareness and advocacy about the significance of heronry and its importance in biodiversity and ecological balance can play major role in its conservation. The Rahama people, for example, successfully conserved the heronry by not killing them, which made the place an interesting spot for the tourists.