Telineelapuram Bird Sanctuary

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Telineelapuram is a village located 65 kilometers from Srikakulam & 7 kms from Tekkali in Tekkali mandal, while Telukunchi is at a distance of 115 kilometers from Srikakulam in Ichchapuram mandal.
Every year, over 3,000 pelicans and painted storks visit from Siberia to these villages during September and stay on till March. It is a paradise for bird observers.
Researchers at Andhra University said the birds had been following this aerial route since 15 years. The migratory movement was first noticed over 15 years ago. At that time the number of birds exceeded 10,000. Today, the figure has been reduced to about 3,000.

The Tekkali creek and the villages in its vicinity like Telineelapuram, Ijjuvaram and Naupada in the district have become a seasonal resort for the winged tourists coming from as far as Siberia in Russia, Malaysia, Hungary, Singapore and Germany apart from 113 different species of inland birds, a majority of which are migrants from other states.

The environment-friendly region, declared a biological heritage site by the Bio-diversity Board of AP, must be well protected and the ecological balance maintained, feels Telineelapuram sarpanch P. Sreenivasa Rao. The ‘devatha pakshulu’ should be shielded from any activity that would jeopardize the serene and ecological balance in the region, . No industrial activity which mars the ecological balance should be encouraged, he says.

The Forest Department in its bid to promote Telineelapuram as a community based eco-tourist destination has prepared an action plan for development of the bird resort as an eco-tourist centre by constructing watchman sheds, umbrella type pagodas for visitors, digging bore-wells and construction of water tanks, providing barbed wire around the tamarind trees which shelter the birds, releasing finger lings into the tank and basic facilities for visitors at a cost of Rs.17 lakhs.

Long travel
The winged tourists, about 700 spot billed pelicans and 1200 painted storks and adjutant storks, travel some 7,000 km every year.
The birds arrive in the month of October and after laying eggs and hatching them abide for seven months. They would fly back to their motherland in the month of May along with their new-born ones. The birds during their sojourn breed in and around the big water bodies.
The Tekkali creek between Bhavanapadu, Meghavaram and Kakarapalle is a wonderful feeding ground. The Telineelapuram and Nowpada swamps and its surroundings are a refuge for 113 bird species. Ringed plover, Kentish plover, Sand plover, Dunlin, Red shank, Grey heron, Whimbrel, Bar headed goose, Greater flamingo and Little tern are resident species hovering over the region, according to wild life warden K. Mruthyumjaya Rao.

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