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Site description (2004 baseline):

The Uppalapadu, a freshwater tank situated in Uppalapadu village under Village Council (Gram Panchayat) revenue land, is small but very important for the globally threatened Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis. The depth of the tank is c. 3 m. Uppalapadu is c. 8 km from Guntur town. The pelicanry is of recent origin, and nesting was first recorded in the winter of 2000 (Rao and Kumar 2000).

AVIFAUNA: In 1999, Spot-billed Pelican, Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans, Oriental White Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus and Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger suddenly appeared in 30 acre wetland of Uppalapadu village and started breeding on large trees (K. M. Rao pers. comm. 2002). In October 2001, 60 pairs of Pelicans were counted and 600 nests of Asian Openbill were seen. As the birds became established in the area, the villagers could not bear the increasing smell of guano. They also complained that the tank water was getting polluted due to the excreta and fish dropped by these birds. Some villagers uprooted trees to stop the birds breeding there, but others protested, so this was stopped. Finally, about 6 acres of the pond was apportioned to the birds by building a small bund. However, this was found to be too small. Local NGOs approached the Forest Department to save the breeding colony. The district authorities have agreed to provide an alternative supply of water to villagers (K. M. Rao in litt. 2001). It is likely that the pelicans have shifted from Kolleru pelicanry which had been abandoned (Manakadan and Kannan 2003). In December 2002, Manakadan and Kannan (2003) recorded a total of 244 pelicans and counted 114 nests.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: This small village pond does not have any mammalian fauna presently of conservation concern.

MAIN THREATS: Reduction of the tank area; Draining of the tank in summer to harvest fish; Death of nesting trees in and around the tank due to excessive excrement of birds; Anthropogenic disturbances; Opposition from local populace due to pollution of water by bird excrement, leading to skin disease.

The most important issue related to this aquatic body is the continuous shrinking of the area, which has been reduced from 30 acres to 6 acres (K. M. Rao pers. comm. 2001). The reduction in tank area is due to the village settlements increasing around it. Though this was the area actually allotted by the villagers for the birds, it is now becoming too small for the birds. The carrying capacity of the tank is not sufficient to accommodate thousands of birds. Several species of smaller birds were driven away by the bigger species. The vegetation of the tank is slowly dying due to overcrowding of breeding and roosting birds throughout the year. Droppings of thousands of birds pollute the tank water. This has further enhanced the death of vegetation inside and around the tank. To overcome the problem, it is necessary to take immediate steps to increase the size of the tank so that the site could be developed as a favourable habitat for resident and migratory species.

Key contributors: K. Mrutyumjaya Rao and V. Kannan.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Uppalapadu (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/uppalapadu-iba-india on 25/11/2024.