page_title: Birding in Chennai
section_title: Adyar/Tholkappia Poonga
hierarchical_section_title: Birding in Chennai / Adyar/Tholkappia Poonga
caption_attribution_description: English: DucksPulicat
context_page_description: Housing more than 200 resident and wintering bird species, Chennai has long been a haven for bird watchers. It is the one of the few urban areas in India with diverse range of birds including greater flamingo, black baza, osprey, Indian eagle-owl, Coppersmith barbet, Spot billed pelican and pied avocet can be seen. The following are some known birding hotspots in and around Chennai.
context_section_description: Adyar Poonga is an eco park on the banks of the Adyar estuary covering 1.45 square kilometres. Over 100 bird species and over 70 species of butterflies have been recorded in and around the park so far.
  The habitat consists of small ponds, flower gardens, sand banks, small scrub and estuary.
  Highlights: Heronry and waders during the winter months. Uncommon butterflies like painted lady and black rajah have also been spotted here.
  Some of the resident bird species that can be seen here are little cormorant, black-crowned night heron, little grebe, sunbirds, common kingfisher, pied kingfisher, white-breasted kingfisher, black-capped kingfisher, lesser whistling teal, white-breasted waterhen, cinnamon bittern, black bittern and little green bee-eater.
  The wintering species that visit the estuary are black-winged stilt, common sandpiper, wood sandpiper, black-tailed godwit, little ringed plover, lesser sand plover, Pacific golden plover, whiskered tern, gull-billed tern, little egret and great egret.
  How to reach Adyar/Tholkappia Poonga: Google Maps
caption: Northern pintails/shovellers at Pulicat lake
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