Mandagadde Bird Sanctuary

A drive from Gajanur on the Tirtahhalli road along the backwaters of Tunga through the row of trees , amidst dense forest of Shettyhalli wildlife Sanctuary leads to a tiny little village of Mandagadde.Malnad region has two famous bird sanctuaries. One's the Uluve Bird Sanctuary and the other one is the Mandagadde Bird sanctuary. The drive from Gajanur to Mandagadde is very pleasant and the picturesque. To reach this place. One doesn't need to go through tough terrain but a simple drive on straight road one can see a tiny island formed by Tunga river.That is the Mandagadde Bird sanctuary. Three species of birds mainly the median egret, the little cormorant, and the darter visit during onset of monsoon n stay till early October for breeding and August is the peak season and total number of birds during this month is some where around 5000.
A watch tower is built on the banks of the river tunga to catch the sight of these birds. one can also sit on the river bank and have a look at these visitors dart into the water in search of their catch.One can also go for a Coracle ride to have a close look. The day I visited, I think I was extremely lucky that I got the opportunity to spot a snake bird fishing and feed it's little one. Thanks to the camera I have. Getting here :
By Road - Mandagadde is 30 Kms from Shimoga .From Bangalore,Shimoga is well connected by road.KSRTC has recently introduced Volvo buses which are comfortable and fast way of reaching Shimoga from Bangalore. Shimoga is around 270 Kms from Bangalore.
By Rail - Shimoga has a railway station and there are frequent trains that run to Shimoga from Bangalore and Mysore.Birur Junction is around 60 Kms from Shimoga and is well connected by train to most part of India.

Accommodation : There are lots of decent budget hotels in Shimoga.But , during my last visit I saw that a resort has come up near Mandagadde.It looks like this tiny village is getting a place on wildlife map finally.