Gudavi Bird Sanctuary (18211)
India, Asia

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2007

National site name: Gudavi Bird Sanctuary

Central coordinates: Latitude: 14.4417, Longitude: 75.0250

System: freshwater, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 560 00

Area of KBA (km²): 0.83019

KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Gudavi Bird Sanctuary is one of the well-known bird sanctuaries of Karnataka. It is located 13 km from Sorab and 0.5 km from Gudavi village, in Shimoga district. Gudavi, a traditional nesting habitat for a number of colonial waterbirds, appears to have been in existence for well over a century. The Sanctuary is a medium-sized tank of 30 ha with a raised bund, bordered on the eastern and southwestern sides by open, moist, deciduous forest. The waterspread area has been demarcated into a small southern and a much larger northern sector by raised bunds. The smaller sector harbours heronry where 12 species of waterbirds breed from July to November. The northern sector is inhabited by a variety of resident and migratory waterbirds. Vitex leucoxylon, Kirganelia reticulata and Phyllanthus polyphyllus trees in the tank provide these birds with good nesting sites (Manjrekar 2000). On its northern side, the Sanctuary has agricultural fields. The water from the tank is used for irrigating paddy fields on the eastern side of the Varada river, which flows 0.5 km from the Sanctuary (Lal et al. 1994). The tank gets flooded during the monsoon and becomes shallow and dry during summer. The average depth of water in the heronry is 1.5 m and the maximum depth is about 2 m. The vegetation around the tank is Moist Evergreen Deciduous type. The tank has floating lilies and Azolla, among other water plants. Tree species on the periphery are dominated by Vitex leucoxylon and Phyllanthus polyphyllus.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Western Ghats Hotspot (2007). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat status follow the 2002 IUCN Red List.

Additional biodiversity: AVIFAUNA: Gudavi is very popular with birdwatchers. Gururaja et al. (1993) have identified 254 species. The Sanctuary harbours 10-12 thousand birds of various species. Subramanya (1996) lists Gudavi as one of the top 10 heronries in India. It provides traditional nesting sites for more than 5,000 White or Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephala every year (B. B. Hosetti pers. comm. 2003). BirdLife International (2001) has listed the Black-headed Ibis as one of the Near Threatened species. Wetlands International (2002) states that the 1% biogeographical population of this species is only 100. Therefore, Gudavi Bird Sanctuary holds a significant global population of this species. Other species found nesting are cormorants, herons and egrets. Near Threatened species include Greater Grey-headed Fishing Eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus and Darter Anhinga melanogaster. In the surrounding forest, three restricted range (endemic) species of the Western Ghats Endemic Bird Area are found. OTHER KEY FAUNA: As this is a small wetland sanctuary for birds, surrounded by agricultural fields and human habitation, large mammals are absent. However, Bonnet Macaque Macaca radiata, Common Langur Semnopithecus entellus, Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Black-naped Hare Lepus nigricollis and Golden Jackal Canis aureus are seen in the environs. The tank water holds a significant population of several hundred Peninsular Mud Turtle or the Indian Flapshell Lissemys punctata (Ragunatha 1993).

Habitats

Land use: agriculture | nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Artificial - Aquatic	33
Forest	33
Artificial - Terrestrial	33

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: MAIN THREATS: Siltation; Cattle grazing; Illegal tree cutting; Firewood collection; Disturbance to birds; Expansion of agriculture. The Sanctuary is maintained by the State Forest Department. Shooting and trapping are strictly prohibited by the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. However, fishing, grazing, cutting of trees and grasses for firewood, fodder and other domestic agricultural purposes are the major activities in the Sanctuary. The surrounding areas are under paddy cultivation and arecanut plantations. The freshwater tank is threatened by siltation and degradation of vegetation in the catchment area, mainly because of overgrazing by cattle from surrounding villages.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Small-holder farming	Only in the future
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources	Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Gathering terrestrial plants	Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target)	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents	Soil erosion, sedimentation	Ongoing
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities		Ongoing

Additional information

References: BirdLife International (2001) Threatened Birds of Asia: The BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Gururaja, K. V., Aravinda, N. A. and Raghunatha, V. (1993) Checklist of Birds of Shimoga and Gudavi. Pp. 77-80. In Bird Conservation Strategies for the Nineties and beyond (eds. Verghese, A. Sridhar, S. and Chakravarthy, A. K.). Ornithological Society of India, Bangalore. Lal, R., Kothari, A., Pande, P. and Singh, S. (Eds.) (1994) Directory of National Parks and Sanctuaries in Karnataka, Management Status and Profiles. Center for Public Policy, Planning and Environmental Studies, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi. Manjrekar, N. (ed.) (2000) A Walk on the Wild Side Karnataka Forest Department, Wildlife Wing, Bangalore. Ragunatha V. (1993) Final report on an Ecological study of waterbirds at Gudavi Bird Sanctuary. Report submitted to WWF-India, New Delhi. Subramanya, S. (1996) Distribution, status and conservation of Indian Heronries. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 93: 459-486. Wetlands International (2002) Waterbird Population Estimates: Third Edition. Wetlands International Global Series No. 12, Wageningen, The Netherlands.