Karikili Bird Sanctuary
The Karikili Bird Sanctuary is situated near Padalur in Kanchipuram District in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the bird sanctuaries near Chennai, at a distance of 86Km. The Chengalpattu is the nearest town to the Karikili Bird Sanctuary.
History
The Karikili is located at a distance of 10Km from the other famous Bird Sanctuary. This Karikili region is full of paddy fields, open spaces and the shrub forests. Then this Sanctuary has two Tanks which was built in 1988. This bird Sanctuary and the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary are spotted as the significant bird areas in Tamil Nadu.
Special Things
This Sanctuary is the beautiful and adorable place near Chennai. In this Sanctuary, you can see the waders and the ducks. The other fauna like the Little Grebe, Shoveller, Garganey teals, Egrets, Pin tailed ducks and the common teals are found here. Then the Northern Pintail and the Common Sandpiper are the migratory birds seen in this Sanctuary.
During the migratory season, more number of birds are seen in the Karikili Sanctuary as compared to the Vedanthangal Sanctuary. The grey heron, darter, open – charged stork, egrets, spoonbill, night herons, grey pelician, little grebes,etc. are the famous cormorants in this forest.
The large vegetation of this place, covers the thorny forests and the dry evergreen scrubs. Here the two tanks uses the rain water to irrigate the plants growing in this Sanctuary. Here the bird droppings and the wastes, mixes with the tank water. So the tank water acts as the fertilizer when flowing through the plants
Migratory Birds
The notable bird varieties include the Common blue-greens, ducks, Sandpipers, Shoveller, stilts and the Garganey blue-greens in this Sanctuary. Then the other migratory birds are the Moorhen, Terns and the Coots . This Sanctuary provides the fresh water for a number of migratory birds.
In the Karikili Bird Sanctuary, the birds come during the September month to October month. The late October serves as a nesting period for the migratory birds. These birds come to the ground in the month of February . So these birds stay in this Sanctuary from November to February. The flora like the acacia nilotica and the barringtonia are found in the forest of this Sanctuary.
Climate
The Karakili covers an area of about 61 hectares with a vegetation that is suitable for bird survival. This region gets an annual rainfall of about 1200mm.
Best time to visit
The best time to come to this Sanctuary is from the November month to February month, because a number of birds are seen outside their nest.
Transport facilities
The Karakili Bird Sanctuary is nearer to Chennai like the Vedanthangal. So a number of buses are available to this place, from Chennai, Chengalpattu and Tambaram. Then the nearest Railway station to this site, is the Chengalpattu Railway station. From there, you must choose a road transport to reach this Karikili Sanctuary. The only nearest Airport is the Chennai International Airport, from where you must use a road transport to reach this site.
Accommodation
For the visitors coming to this Sanctuary, the Forest Rent house in Vedanthangal and the P.W.D Rest house in Karunkuzhi of Kanchipuram are the nearest rest place available.
Entrance Fees for visitors
| For Children | For Adults | Still Camera | Video Camera |
| Rs.5 per person | Rs.10 per person | Rs.25 per unit | Rs. 150 per unit |
Other Bird Sanctuary
The other bird Sanctuary nearer to this Karakili Sanctuary is the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, but you must opt an another road transport to reach that site.
Location: Karikili, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
Timings: 8.00 A.M to 6.00 P.M .
(Open in all the days of week)
Best time for visit: November to February
Total area- The total area covered by this Karikili Sanctuary is 61 hectares.