Bird Walk at Vellalore Lake, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Name: Bird Walk at Vellalore Lake, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Start: 2026-10-03T07:00:00+05:30
End: 2026-10-03T09:00:00+05:30

About Vellalore Lake

Vellalore Lake is a 90-acre tank in southeast Coimbatore, fed by the Noyyal River. For around two decades it sat dry, a forgotten basin on the edge of the city. Then, starting in 2018, volunteers from the Kovai Kulangal Paathukappu Amaippu joined the district administration to bring it back. They cleared weeds, desilted the bed and planted thousands of native trees of more than 200 species as dense Miyawaki mini-forests. When the Noyyal monsoon flow finally filled the tank again, life returned quickly. Today the lake is bordered by young native woodland, reedy margins and open water. The shade and cooler air bring out porcupines, hares and a remarkable range of butterflies, with 83 species recorded, including the Blue Mormon.

For birders, Vellalore is a clear example of wetland restoration working. More than 80 bird species have been recorded. Spot-billed Pelicans use the lake as a breeding ground, and in winter large, swirling flocks of Rosy Starlings arrive. Herons, egrets, cormorants, kingfishers and waders work the water, and the new forest is filling with bulbuls, sunbirds and other woodland birds. Still, the lake’s future depends on the Noyyal, a river heavily polluted by sewage and textile-industry effluent. It also depends on steady water flow through channels that can easily be blocked or encroached. Keeping those supply channels open, controlling pollution upstream and continuing community care are what will keep Vellalore alive.

Bird walk Location

Common birds of Vellalore Lake

The restored waters of Vellalore have become a busy meeting place for herons. The Purple Heron, slender and snake-necked, hides among the reeds. The towering Gray Heron stands still as a statue at the water’s edge. Medium, Little and Eastern Cattle-Egrets add flashes of white, and the Indian Pond-Heron blends into the mud until it takes off on bright white wings. Flocks of Glossy Ibises shine bronze and green as they probe the shallows. Little Cormorants dive for fish, while Indian Spot-billed Ducks, Gray-headed Swamphens, Eurasian Coots and Moorhens share the open water and weedy margins. Overhead, the chestnut-and-white Brahminy Kite circles among the Black Kites. Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, winter visitors, swoop gracefully from the treetops after dragonflies. The White-throated Kingfisher’s sharp call rings over the banks, and the Coppersmith Barbet taps out its steady “tuk-tuk” from the young forest planted around the lake. Black Drongos perch on the lookout, Greater Coucals stalk through the thickets, and Indian Peafowl wander the edges. The birds are proof of how quickly nature returns when a lake is brought back to life.