CROW HABITAT
For crow lovers the right place to enjoy is Kakkathuruth (Crow Island) in Kunnamkulam, about 25 km away from Thrissur town. Kakkathuruth is surrounded by Kaul field (Kaul is known as paddy field which is full of water during monsoon. After monsoon paddy cultivation is done once or twice a year after dewatering the Kaul). The Crow Island (Kakkathuruth in local parlance) is the habitat of countless crows.
A newcomer to Kakkathuruth after 5.30 pm will definitely get struck with surprise. Here, the crows are seen like bees in honey-comb. This craw habitat has a history of 100 years.
There were only two huts with human habitation in Kakkathuruth in earlier days. There were only cashew trees and jungle trees which the crows were camping on. Gradually coconut trees too took position. The first inhabitants of Kakkathuruth were the crows. Today there are 23 dwelling houses in place of the two in the beginning. Instead of declining the craw population in line with the hike in human population, the crow population is actually getting multiplied, the islanders assert.
The island wakes up on the alarm of the crows. By 4.30 in the morning they start calling the islanders in their own language to wake up as if they are entrusted with that duty. For about 90 minutes from 4.30 the noise uproar rules the scene. The uproar is the sign of getting ready to go out in search of food. By 6.30 many of them leave the island and the remaining few fly criss-cross in the island with unruly noise.
By 5.30 pm all the gone out lot returns to the island from west direction en-masse. They hover above the island playfully for a while like an unfolded umbrella and thereafter perch on the branches of the trees and coconut palms. By 7.30 to 8.00 they engage in sleep. If anybody lights up a torch or a vehicle enters the island they awake and fly helter-skelter in the island en-masse and settle down when there is no sign of torch or vehicle light.
Though this numerically big species is a decoration to the island, there is some nuisance as well. Coconut palm climbers are the victims of their wrath. They become violent and attack the climbers on the heads by their beaks. This is because they mistake the climbers as if they are coming up to destroy their nest woven for laying eggs. If the cloths are on hangers in open air during their home-coming time (5.30 pm), sure the cloths get smeared by their faces.
Though there is some nuisance, Kakkathuruth dwellers cannot think of the life without the craws as their life is aligned with the uproarious noise of craws – the black beauty.
The ideal time to watch the big crowd of craws in Kakkathuruth is 5.30 to 6.30 pm.
