Feb 5th, 2025

A sense of déjà vu comes over me as I gaze at the huge trees studded with flocks of magnificent Painted storks. I am excited to be able to witness yet again, a phenomenon of human and bird coexistence which I had serendipitously experienced less than 2 years ago when I visited the Veerapuram bird sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh in July 2023. This was the first time I was witnessing a spectacle so fascinating, where thousands of these stately birds were clustered in this small, nondescript village, living in complete harmony with their human hosts.

Cut to the present, where an impromptu detour while returning to Bangalore from our bird photography jaunt to Hadinaru lake, led my friend and me to the charming little village of Kokkarebellur.

Nestled in the lush, verdant, farmland environs of Maddur taluk in the Mandya district of Karnataka, India, this is not just another ordinary village. Just like Veerapuram, its specialty too lies in its spectacular colonies of birds that share space with their host villagers in a remarkable relationship of coexistence, trust and mutual comfort.

Being a last minute decision to visit this place since it was barely 12 km out of our way, I was quite unprepared with my pre-research and also rather tired from the earlier activities at Hadinaru. This disclaimer is to exonerate myself in advance, since I have neither clicked sufficient photos nor have I done enough justice in gathering and presenting the details of this place in my usual detailed and long drawn way (or so she said). Well I leave it to you to decide whether that is a bane or a boon for you 😎

And speaking of bane, allow me to caption this story – The Stork’Home syndrome.

Once you are done rolling your eyes, you may continue further 😁

About Kokkarebellur village –

Kokkarebellur (also spelt as Kokrebellur) is a village that lies in the Maddur taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka, India.

Kokkare translates to stork (and also Crane) in the Kannada language and in this case specifically refers to the Painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala), which for centuries have inexplicably made this village their home for a few months in the year, mostly from December to June.

The birds arrive here, build their nests in the large and ancient tamarind and ficus trees and depart a few months later after laying eggs, hatching them and rearing the hatchlings until they can fly.

Another part time resident here is the Spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) who also follows a similar seasonal cycle.

Both these bird species are classified as ‘Near threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

What draws tourists to this village, is the amazing and harmonious coexistence of these birds and the locals, with a ‘double decker’ living arrangement so to speak, where the birds occupy the higher level, namely the trees and the humans of course live on the ‘ground floor’.

Also, the friendly villagers are always happy to play guide, which enhances the already remarkable experience of the visitors.

While it is said that these birds have been coming here for centuries, the earliest documentation of the storks and pelicans of this village however, was made in 1864 by a British naturalist and ornithologist, Thomas Caverhill Jerdon.

But it was only from 1976 that it was given prominence by the forest department and compensatory schemes were introduced to benefit the villagers to incentivize them to participate in protecting the birds and sustaining this phenomenon. Hence for the last 50 years or so, this place has been informally considered as a bird sanctuary, though this place is not officially designated as one (hence the title of this blog says Habitat). But over the decades the villagers have forged a relationship with these birds and they protect them and make sure they have a conducive atmosphere to warrant their return because they consider them to be lucky for the village. The village also benefits from the manure from the guano (bird droppings).

Several bird watchers and photographers flock to this village to view this bird extravaganza and the friendly villagers are happy to show them around.

Nature Interpretation Center – 

A first time visitor may find the place rather confusing because Google does not actually lead you right up to the trees where the birds are waiting to pose and preen for you 😉

As I mentioned earlier, since ours was an on the spot decision to visit the place, I had not done any research on it at all, as I usually do before embarking on any expedition.

So we blindly banked on Google, which did what it does best in rural areas, namely making sure we literally went around in circles before getting quite lost 😏 And as usual we had to depend on the helpfulness of the locals to lead us on the right path.

When we arrived at the village, we found ourselves in the vicinity of the Nature Interpretation Center, an initiative to orient visitors by providing relevant information about this unusual village.

This modest building has an open porch and a small hall with display boards bearing nuggets of information in English and Kannada, about the history of this village, the relationship between the birds and the villagers, the biodiversity of this region and the conservation efforts that have been undertaken.

There is a sufficiently big compound for parking.

Local guide – 

Since we had no idea what to do next or where to hunt for our goal, we entered the Interpretation center where we were fortunate to meet Mr Lingegowda. A senior resident of the village who has helped significantly in various ways to safeguard the birds, he was most helpful and friendly and offered to personally take us around the village and show us the trees where the birds were nesting.

He first took us to his beautiful, modern home, the terrace of which was like our own personal viewing gallery.

From there we sighted our first lot of Painted storks studded in the foliage of a huge tree, their large spanned pink, white and black wings standing out against the dark green leaves and the clear blue skies.

Mr Lingegowda was kind enough to spend a lot of time with us, taking us around the entire village and making sure we had our fill of the storks and pelicans too and even though the pelican season was coming to an end, he managed to help us get a few pictures of them huddling high up in their nests.

 

Other birds – 

Apart from Painted storks and Pelicans, Kokkarebellur is also home to nearly 150 other  species bird species like Herons, Ibis, Cormorants, Kites, Egrets and many many more.

The birds are most active in the early morning and late evening hours but since we had reached the village at noon, we did not spot too many.

However, enroute to the village, we did manage to see a few Black-headed ibis and Red-naped ibis frolicking in the picturesque emerald green fields as we drove past.

A short video – 

View this post on Instagram

Phone and internet connectivity –

The internet works reasonably well within the village. Airtel, Jio etc seemed to work fine in our rural surroundings.

What to carry – 

Some of the items you could carry are caps, sunglasses, camera and its associated paraphernalia, binoculars, portable stools, snacks, water etc.

Summers can get quite hot but mornings are quite cold in winters, so equip yourself accordingly. Layering your clothing may be a good idea because it gets hotter as the day goes by. Do not wear bright colored clothing but go with neutral colors that will suit the natural surroundings.

Do not strew food around or litter. Please bring your trash back.

Do not make loud noises or create any commotion while watching the birds. They should remain undisturbed.

For food and water, there are several places on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. Most of these places also have sufficiently usable washrooms.

Where to eat –

Maddur town 15 km away, has a few reasonably decent restaurant options. We had lunch in the well known Maddur Tiffanys, which also lays claim to being the original creator of the famous Maddur vada.

There are many other eateries along the highway too.

Where to stay –

While it is a day trip for residents of Bangalore and Mysore, other visitors have a vast range of hotel options in these 2 cities. They can also opt to stay in the more economical hotels of Mandya or Maddur.

Be aware that a day trip will suffice to this place though.

Additional Information –

Timing and Entry fee to Kokkarebellur –

This is not a designated reserve or gated sanctuary. It is a regular village and hence does not have any timing restrictions. There is no entry fee either.

Best season and time to visit –

November to May is said to be the best time to visit Kokkarebellur in order to have an optimal viewing experience of the birds and their breeding activities.

Early morning is the best and most comfortable time to view the birds. They are also active towards evening.

Getting there – 

Kokkarebellur is around 90 km from Bangalore and 70 km from Mysore. It is about 12 km off the main Bangalore-Mysore expressway. Though Google is largely reliable, it did manage to confuse us and we had to resort to asking for last mile directions from helpful villagers. This has been our usual experience with Google in rural areas 😏

It is easiest to access this place by car rather than depend on public transport. However there are rail and bus options to Maddur from Bangalore and Mysore. One can probably hire an autorickshaw for the last mile (or several miles) connectivity.

The nearest airports are at Mysore and Bangalore.

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Please Note –

This was a personal trip and my narration is based on the inputs I received from various sources as well as my personal experiences.

For more pictures see My Facebook – Kokkarebellur

Also catch me on My Facebook, My Facebook page, My Twitter and My Instagram

Before venturing, please check what birds have been recently sighted. There are a few websites like eBird which provide regional and current statistics.

I would really appreciate your feedback and comments in the comment box below.

Feb 5th, 2025