| Thol Lake Thol Bird Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Flamingos and a black winged stilt in Thol Lake | |
  Thol Lake Thol Bird Sanctuary | |
| Location | Thol village nearKalol,Gujarat |
| Coordinates | 23°22.50′N72°37.50′E / 23.37500°N 72.62500°E /23.37500; 72.62500 |
| Lake type | Lentic |
| Catchment area | 15,500 hectares (38,000 acres) |
| Basin countries | India |
| Surface area | 699 hectares (1,730 acres) |
| Water volume | 84 million cubic metres (3.0×10 |
| Frozen | |
| Official name | Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary |
| Designated | 5 April 2021 |
| Reference no. | 2458[1] |
Thol Lake is an artificial lake near Thol village inKadi inMehsana District in the Indianstate ofGujarat. A fresh water lake surrounded by marshes, it was built as an irrigation tank in 1912. Declared theThol Bird Sanctuary in 1988, it is a habitat to 150 species of birds, about 60% of themwaterbirds. Manymigratory birds nest and breed in the lake and its periphery. The two most prominent species of birds recorded in the sanctuary areflamingoes andsarus crane (Grus antigone).[2][3] The sanctuary is also proposed to be declared anEco-Sensitive Zone, conforming to theEnvironment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986), for which draft notification has been prepared.[4]
The lake drains a catchment area of 15,500 hectares (38,000 acres).[2] It is in a semi-arid zone of the Mehsana district with dominance of drydeciduous vegetation.[5]
The climate in the area consists of three seasons:winter,summer andmonsoon. The average annual rainfall in the catchment of the lake is 600 millimetres (24 in) with a minimum of 100 millimetres (3.9 in) and maximum of 800 millimetres (31 in). The maximum and minimum temperatures recorded in the area are 43 °C (109 °F) and 8 °C (46 °F).[5]
The lake is situated near Thol village 20 kilometres (12 mi) fromKalol and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north-west ofAhmedabad, 75 kilometres (47 mi) fromMehsana inMehsana District.[2]
The lake was initially built in 1912 as a tank by theGaekwad regime to provide irrigation facilities to farmers. This established the user rights of the lake water. The operation and management of the lake is under the dual control of the Forest and Irrigation departments of the Government of Gujarat.[2]
The lake has a storage capacity of 84 million cubic metres (3.0×10^9 cu ft). Its water spread area is 699 hectares (1,730 acres).[2] Lake's shore length is 5.62 kilometres (3.49 mi) and water depth is shallow.[5]
Thol Wildlife Sanctuary, a shallow water reservoir, situated 25 km (15 mi) northwest of Ahmedabad and most popular birding place near Ahmedabad afterNal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary which is about 50 km (30 mi) from Thol Wildlife Sanctuary. Geographically Thol Wildlife Sanctuary falls inMehsana district of NorthGujarat. Kadi, ataluka headquarters of the district, is just 22 km (14 mi) away from the Sanctuary. Thol Wildlife Sanctuary is a man-made (made bySayajirao Gayakvad, Ruler of Baroda) irrigation tank built in 1912 with water storage capacity of 84,000,000 m3 (68,000 ac·ft) and command area of 1450 ha (5.6 mi2) andcatchment area of 153 km2 (59 mi2).[1] The wetland is predominated by the open waterhabitat, which is surrounded by cropland, fallow land and scrub land. Due to its popularity amongst the bird fraternity the area was notified as Sanctuary in November 1988 under Sec. 18 ofWildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.[6] The best time to visit the place is November to February.
Apart from trees in the peripheral area of the lake, vegetation reported in this wetland consists of emergent and floating aquatic plants ofAcacia nilotica,A. leucoploea,Zizyphus,Azadirachta indica,Ficus sp.,Salvadora sp.,Prosopis chilensis, andCapparis sp.[2] According to the Normal Biological Spectrum (NBS) study of the sanctuary,drought resistant vegetation in the category of Bio-geographiczone – IV consisting of thorny shrubs and trees are found, and also reported are mixed flora of aquatic and marshy plants.[5]
Thol Lake, as a bird sanctuary, an inland wetland and aprotected area, is known as a very good habitat forwaterfowl during themonsoon season, extending through thewinter. According toIBA reports there are 150 species of birds in the sanctuary of which nearly 60% (90 species) are stated to be waterbirds which are mostly wintering birds. The most prominent of these species is theflamingos.[2] At one time 5-6 thousand flamingos were reported here.[7]Sarus cranes (Grus antigone), the tallest of the flying birds, nest here in large numbers.[2]
The rich bird life of Thol Wildlife Sanctuary encompasses native as well asmigratory birds. Many winter visitors likegreat white pelicans,flamingos, a variety of waterfowl includingmallards and large numbers ofgeese,sarus cranes and many other waders are common site at sanctuary.
According to theIUCN categorization, the birds reported in the area are:greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) ofleast concern species;Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus),greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga),sarus crane (Antigone antigone), andIndian skimmer (Rynchops albicollis) of thevulnerable species; and thewhite-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) andIndian vulture (Gyps indicus) of thecritically endangered species.[2]
Some of the important fauna reported in the area surrounding the lake are:bluebull (Boselaphus tragocamelus),golden jackal (Canis aureus) andblackbuck (Antilope cervicapra).[2]
