On March 14th, the Ecoteam, Basu, Manju and Julia of the Sea Turtle Project visited Malyadi Bird Sanctuary in the vicinity of Thekatte. The team's aim was to evaluate the possibility of opening up a new branch of FSL's Home-Based-Projects, this one dealing with this particular area.
Unfortunately, the sanctuary premises are divided up into several privately owned parcels of land, a fact that has inhibited local authorities from formally setting up a government-approved bird sanctuary on the property.
The team explored the local flora and fauna, which differs from what is found elsewhere around Kundapura to a great extent. Huge swarms of migratory birds nest here in the Indian winter and leave before the first monsoon rains in June. A local also joined the team in exploring the premises and pointed out the singularity of this peaceful natural habitat.
But there is a lot to be done: Talks with Thekatte's panchyatt have started already, discussions with the land owners should also take place in the near future. One long term goal would be to build a watchtower which could act both as a tourist attraction and as a fomenter of the environmental awareness of the local population. Exciting!
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