Conservation and Social Emancipation

Sonda is a village in Sirsi taluka of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. This place is the headquarters of Sodhe Sri Vadiraja Matha, which was established in the 13th century by Saint Madhvacharya. Apart from its rich religious heritage, this place (Badalkoppa) is unique for housing a breeding ground for “cattle egrets” (Bubulcus ibis).

As the monsoon approaches, hundreds of these birds gather in the Mundigekere lake spread over 5 acres of land. Initially, a small number of birds hover around the pond, most often in the last week of May and grow into big numbers as the days progress, only to settle into the pond to build nests with twigs, tree leaves, and grass. By the time they lay eggs, the village is prepared for heavy rainfall. The gathering of these birds is taken as an indication of the on-setting of monsoon for the farmers to begin sowing activity. Originally native to southern regions of Spain and Portugal, tropical and subtropical Africa, and humid tropical and subtropical Asia, these egrets come to the lake in Sonda from nearby places like Sirsi, Sidapura, Mundgoda, and Yellapur.