Pathiramanal is a small island in Muhamma panchayat of

Alappuzha district Alappuzha district (), is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to ''Alapp ...

located in Vembanad Lake. The name ''Pathiramanal'' means 'midnight sand'. It is home to many rare varieties of

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

from different parts of the world.

Geography

The Pathiramanal Island is 28.505 ha. It is about 1.5 km from Muhamma boat jetty and about 13 km from Alapuzha. From the jetty close by Baker Bungalow the distance to the island is about 5 km and from Kumarakom 4 km towards northwest. *Maximum length: 550m (SW to NE) *Maximum width: 450m (SE to NW) *Perimeter: 1800 m *Estimated Area: 19.6 ha *Distance to the nearest main land: 810m

History

The island (also known as ''Anantha Padmanabhan Thoppu'') was purchased by Chevalier ACM Anthraper, from M/s Bheemji Devji Trust of Cochin and was under the private ownership of Thaimattathil Family until the late seventies. When Land Reforms Acts were enforced in the State in 1979, the island came under government ownership. The island was returned to the government as a surplus land that crossed the land ceiling. It was later transferred to the Tourism Department and the idea of leasing it out to private enterprises was under consideration. The island at present is uninhabited. Till the late 1970s, 14 worker families resided in the island, who were later rehabilitated on the mainland in the Muhamma panchayath. Pathiramanal walkway2

Birdwatching

The island is home to around 91 local species of birds and 50 migratory birds. One can see pintail ducks, common teal, night heron,

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

darter The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and c ...

, Indian shag, purple heron,

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and Skimmer (bird), skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gul ...

terns Terns are seabirds in the family (biology), family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genus, genera in a subgroup of the fam ...

, large egrets, intermediate egret,

cattle egret The cattle egret (formerly genus ''Bubulcus'') is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan clade of heron (family (biology), family Ardeidae) in the genus ''Ardea (genus), Ardea'' found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. Ac ...

, Indian pond heron,

little egret The little egret (''Egretta garzetta'') is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on ...

, pheasant-tailed and bronze-winged jacanas, stork-billed kingfisher, watercock,

whistling duck The whistling ducks or tree ducks are a subfamily, Dendrocygninae, of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae. In other taxonomic schemes, they are considered a separate family, Dendrocygnidae. Some taxonomists list only one genus, ...

, cotton pygmy-goose, little cormorant and whiskered tern. Some people have even reported seeing the

monarch flycatcher The monarchs or monarch flycatchers (family Monarchidae) comprise a family of over 100 passerine birds which includes shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and Grallina, magpie-larks. Monarchids are small insectivore, insectivorous songbirds with l ...

References

External links

Pathiramanal Guide

www.pathiramanal.com

{{Tourism in Kerala, state=collapsed Islands of Kerala Lake islands of India Bird sanctuaries of Kerala Geography of Alappuzha district Populated places in India Islands of India

Geography

History

Birdwatching

See also

References

External links