Data Zone
Country/territory: India
IBA criteria met: A1, A4iii (2004)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 650 hectares (6.50 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2003 | not assessed | medium | not assessed |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2004 baseline)
The 650 ha Wellington Reservoir is located in Keelacheruvai village, about 3.2 km from Tittagudy town in Cuddalore district. The Reservoir is locally called Yemaneri. It receives water mainly from the Vellar river, which orginates in Salem district and flows from west to east. The tank also receives water from Tholudur regulator through a supply channel, and drainage from catchment areas during the northeast monsoons. The Reservoir has a catchment area of 129 sq. km. This reservoir supports 10,000 ha of agricultural fields for irrigation. The length of the bund is about 4 km. The maximum depth of the lake is about 9 m. The waterbody has rich benthic flora and other hydrophytes. The Forest Department has planted Acacia nilotica especially in the northern part of the Reservoir. Besides the plantation, there are dense stands of old Acacia nilotica and Prosopis chilensis.
Key biodiversity
AVIFAUNA: The Wellington Reservoir qualifies as an IBA on two accounts. Firstly, about 100-150 threatened Spot-billed Pelicans Pelecanus philippensis were seen, that is 6.5% of the known biogeographic population at the 1% threshold level of 40 birds as determined by Wetlands International (2002). Secondly, there is known to be a large congregation of waterfowl, sometimes more than 20,000 in all. The dominant avian species of the lake are duck species, Northern Pintail Anas acuta, Northern Shoveller A. clypeata Red-crested Pochard Rhodonessa rufina and Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica. According to a recent study, there are about 70 bird species in this IBA, of which 67% are water birds (Meganathan 2002).
OTHER KEY FAUNA: There is not much wildlife as the reservoir is surrounded by agricultural fields and human habitations, but the fish fauna is obviously quite rich. The Fisheries Department has introduced commercial fish such as Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala, that also serves as good food for the piscivorous birds.
Acknowledgements
Key contributor: V. Kannan.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Wellington Reservoir (India). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/wellington-reservoir-iba-india on 26/12/2024.