Bird Walk at Ponnuthu Amman Temple, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

In the Western Ghats foothills northwest of Coimbatore, a forest path climbs into the Thadagam Reserve Forest to the small shrine of Ponnuthu Amman. The temple sits beside a sacred spring and a waterfall that flows all year and feeds a rocky pool. Above it rises Kurudi Hill, one of the most striking peaks near the city. The walk passes through dry deciduous forest, thorny scrub, bamboo, rocky slopes and grassy clearings. Dense undergrowth grows along the streams, and trees such as teak, neem, tamarind and wild fig give shade and fruit. This is a working wildlife corridor. Asian elephants regularly cross here and drink at the waterfall, and sambar, spotted deer, wild boar, peafowl, and sometimes a leopard use the same slopes.

For birders, Ponnuthu offers a rich mix of forest and scrub birds right on Coimbatore’s doorstep. Cuckoos and malkohas creep through the thickets, rollers and bee-eaters sit out in the open, and swifts sweep over the ridges. Raptors hunt along the forest edge. But the Thadagam valley is under heavy pressure. Brick kilns and large-scale soil mining have scarred the foothills and cut into elephant routes. Expanding farms and settlements, fences, forest fires, invasive Lantana and litter left by visitors add to the strain, and human–elephant conflict keeps rising as a result. Protecting the corridor, restoring the mined land and visiting the forest responsibly are vital to keeping this sacred grove wild.