page_title: Birding in Chennai
section_title: Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary
hierarchical_section_title: Birding in Chennai / Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary
caption_attribution_description: English: AsianOpenbill-Nellapattu
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: Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is one of the best breeding grounds for spot-billed pelican in the country. Covering an area of 4.5 square kilometres, this lake serves as a nesting colony for thousands of winter migrants. The lake has Barringtonia species trees where these wintering birds build their nests.
  Highlights: Heronry and wintering ducks.
  The bird species that nest here include painted stork, grey heron, Eurasian spoonbill, darter, little cormorant, Indian shag, spot-billed pelican, black-headed ibis, glossy ibis, little egret, intermediate egret, great egret, black-crowned night heron, pond heron and Asian openbill stork. Hundreds of garganey teal, northern pintail, gadwall and northern shoveller can also be seen on the lake. The best time to visit this place is from November to March.
  How to reach Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary:
  Google Maps
caption: Asian openbill nesting at Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary
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