A survey of the whole Bharathapuzha basin, run across seventy one-kilometre grids between October 2017 and July 2019, recorded 262 bird species. Diversity was highest up in the hills; sheer numbers were highest down at the coast. One grid at Ponnani held 2,200 individual birds.

What is on the water

The two species that mass here are the Black-headed Gull and Pallas’s Gull, in flocks that have been put above five thousand, with terns, plovers and sandpipers working the same sand and shallows. Seventeen Western Ghats endemics were recorded across the basin, and one bird of this river system — the Black-bellied Tern — is Endangered.

The season is late, and the sources do not quite agree

Kerala’s general migratory window runs from about November to March, and most people put the binoculars away at the end of it. This mouth is at its fullest as that happens. The record for Purathur puts birds here in their thousands from February to April; the Malayalam account of the azhimukham puts the main arrival between March and May. Those are two different windows, and no source averages them. What matters for planning is the direction they share: come later than you would elsewhere in the state.

Identified, but never notified

The State Wetland Authority of Kerala does carry Ponnani among the wetlands it has identified, with a brief document prepared for it — the first step under the 2017 national wetland rules. Nothing has followed it. On the wildlife side there is nothing at all: a bird sanctuary at Purathur was proposed in 2010, and none was ever notified. There is no warden, no hide, no boardwalk and no interpretation board — you look at the birds from a public bank, or you do not look at them. Malappuram’s one protected area is Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary, far inland in the ghats. The nearest estuary on this coast with any legal standing is the Kadalundi–Vallikkunnu Community Reserve, declared in 2007, and that is 39 kilometres north. Meanwhile the three named threats to this river basin — deforestation, sand mining and water pollution — all apply here.

If the birds are the reason you are going
  • Come between about February and May, later than the rest of Kerala.
  • Bring binoculars. There is nothing built here to bring you closer.
  • Early morning, and work the sandbanks and the shallows rather than the surf.
  • Do not count on facilities. There is no hide, no warden and nothing to buy.

Frequently asked questions

How many bird species are there at the Bharathapuzha estuary?

262 species were recorded across the whole river basin in a survey run between October 2017 and July 2019. The estuary is the abundance end of that: one grid at Ponnani held 2,200 individual birds, and gull flocks here have been put above five thousand.

Which birds gather at the mouth?

Black-headed Gull and Pallas’s Gull in the largest numbers, with terns, plovers and sandpipers. The Black-bellied Tern, a bird of this river system, is Endangered.

Is the Bharathapuzha estuary a bird sanctuary?

No. One was proposed at Purathur in 2010 and never notified. There is no protection, no warden and no hide.