The KSBB has submitted a proposal to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seeking heritage tag for the freshwater lake and its environs.

The Rs.75-crore proposal seeks to enlist the support of local communities to protect bird nests and prevent poaching. The bird survey had revealed the presence of over 100 species in the Punchakari area bordering the lake.

KSBB Member Secretary K.P. Laladhas said a team of birdwatchers had been tracking the native and migratory species at Vellayani for some time.

On July 31, the team spotted a single Painted stork in the wetlands. A large wading bird, the Painted stork ( Mycterialeucocephala ) is a near threatened species rarely found in Kerala.

Dr. Laladhas said the late sighting of the stork at Vellayani, coinciding with the delayed start of a full-fledged monsoon, could make it an indicator of climate change.

The Jacobin cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo ( Clamatorjacobinus ), a bird associated with rain since ancient times, was also first spotted at Vellayani during the survey.

Biodiversity register

The KSBB is preparing to bring out a biodiversity register exclusively for the Vellayani region.

Three other locations in Kerala, Kalassamala in Thrissur district, Ashramam in Kollam, and Pathiramanalisland in Alappuzha, have also been proposed as biodiversity heritage sites.

Official sources said the government was expected to notify the sites after issuing the guidelines for biodiversity heritage status.

Of the four proposed sites, Kalassamala is home to about 200 trees of the Syzygiumtravancoriumspecies. Listed as critically endangered in the Red Data book published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species is known to have a population of only about 400, all of them in Kerala.

While Asramam is known for the mangrove forests on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake, Pathiramanal was proposed for the biodiversity heritage tag for its rich diversity of migratory birds.