Chittarangudi tank is a traditional tank, about 4 km in length and about 2.5 km in breadth. In 1800 a canal from the Ragunatha Kaveri river was linked to supply water to the tank. The tank has a total waterspread area of about 7 sq km and has an ayacut (irrigated area under a tank) of 350 acres. There are 5 sluices, all of them in the southern side of the tank. The bund height is about 4-5 ft on the southern side, while it is only about 1-1.5 ft on the northern side. The tank at its full capacity irrigates nearly 600 acres. The tank gets water only during the rainy season and dries up by the end of February.

Chittarangudi attracts a large number of waterbirds, which roost here in the monsoons, and is hence referred to as Chittarangudi heronry. A heronry needs other waterbodies in the vicinity as well to provide food to the birds, and Chittarangudi has many tanks in its vicinity, including Vettangudi and Kanjirkolam, which are also legally notified bird sanctuaries. The other small tanks in this region have now gone dry because of mismanagement.

The number of trees in and around the tank has gone up (mainly Acacia nilotica) but canopy cover has gone down, and many of the old trees are dying because of age (and excess bird droppings on the leaves of the trees). Excessive silt in the tank has reduced the storage capacity. Lack of regular desiltation leads to inadequate water supply for irrigation.

In earlier times there were nearly twelve castes in the village: thevars, konars, pallars, vellalars (pillai), sakkiliars, chettiyar, brahmins, Muslims, asariyars, poosaris, vannars (washermen), and ambattayars (barbers). Now the Muslims, brahmins and chettiyars have completely left the village. Among the nine castes that live in the village presently, Kondayan Kottai Thevars are in a majority, with nearly 55 families. Most of them are engaged in agriculture; some of them own cattle as well. The four servayar families are in a position of authority here. The village heads have been mostly from this community and even now the panchayat president and the society president belong to this community.

The next most important caste in the village is Konar, with about 25 Konar families in the village. Most of them own cattle and also practice agriculture. The Pallar community also has about 25 families in the village, who are engaged in agriculture and cutting of Prosopis juliflora. The sakkiliar community comprises mostly of labourers who are engaged in the cutting of juliflora. However, there is unity among all castes and socially the entire village stands as a single unit. The people have good relations with each other and the Chittarangudi tank seems to be a common factor that binds them all.

The villagers of Chittarangudi are very proud of the tank in their village and the tank is very important from the point of view of bird conservation. Sentiments associated with the birds cut across all class and caste barriers in the village. The importance of the tank in the lives of the villagers can be gauged from the fact that they explain their history mostly in relation to the tank. This area has experienced a severe drought in 2000 and 2001 and the number of birds coming to these tanks has therefore decreased.

The villagers rely on water from the Chittaragundi tank for irrigation for their main source of livelihood: agriculture. Chittarangudi villagers have treated birds like children, as they have realised the importance of bird droppings in agriculture and thus their economy.

Officially, the Forest Department is in charge of managing the tank. However conservation is traditionally carried out by the villagers themselves, through the village committee. The "neerkatti" system of water distribution is followed, wherein the village committee has appointed two persons for distributing water to different fields in the village. The neerkatti after discussing with the committee and the villagers looking after the level of the water in the tank has to irrigate the land according to the wish of the village and the committee. During times of scarcity, there are more people to guard the sluice gates and a rationing system of water sharing is followed. Anybody caught stealing water is fined heavily by the village committee. The fees paid to the neerkatti come from funds collected from farmers whose fields are irrigated with water from the tank. 

The following steps have been taken by the villagers to ensure safe and favourable habitat to the birds:

1. Villagers do not burst crackers during Diwali (which falls in the month of November) as they feel it would frighten the birds during the nesting season (which is around October and November).

2. Many other tanks have been leased out by the village panchayat for fishing. This does not happen here as it would disturb the birds and would affect their food consumption.

3. The eggs of the birds are not collected by the people (in some other heronries close by, the local villagers take away eggs by bagloads). The villagers neither hunt the birds nor allow anybody else to hunt.

4. The villagers do wish to cultivate a second crop in February but the water in the tank is usually not enough for irrigation, and they leave it for the birds. It is possible that lack of consensus of how to share the water for the second crop might result in not using it for cultivation.

5. One of the important functions of the village committee is to safeguard the birds; in this task it is supported by the entire village. The villagers quote an incident: ‘Some strangers walked into the tank one night to steal some birds. Then some of the birds flew over to the village and made a big noise. The villagers ran with some weapons to stop the strangers; in the struggle one of the villagers was very badly hurt and was admitted to the hospital.’ This is to indicate the importance placed by the villagers on their winged seasonal guests.

Seasonal agriculture is the main source of livelihood in the village. Being located in a rain shadow zone, this area receives very little rainfall. Rain is received from September to November (northeast monsoon) when the tank also fills up, then providing water for agriculture. Paddy is grown in the wetland and chillies in the dry lands. In the off-season the land is left fallow. During the dry season people grow some vegetables in the dry tank bed (each family has occupied some land in the tank). Till the 1980s several crops were grown in the dry areas of the tank. The major source of income for the village is charcoal-making from Prosopis juliflora. In the dry lands Prosopis grows naturally and is cut every 3 years. All these livelihood activities are possible due to the sustenance of the tank. 

In recent times, interest in tank management and upkeep has revived. Birds visiting Chittarangudi include storks, ibises, herons, egrets, cormorants and several other migratory birds. Chittarangudi is very safe for the birds as there is practically no poaching or stealing of eggs. The canopy cover in the surrounding area is good and there is adequate food, as fishing is not allowed in the tank.

1. Ever since the plantation of acacia trees around the tank by the forest department, the villagers are not allowed to use the dry tank bed for vegetable cultivation. This has caused resentment among the villagers, as vegetable cultivation is an important source of supplementary income.

2. After the declaration of the sanctuary, cutting of karavel trees for fuelwood was banned. This has further intensified the conflict between the FD and the people.

3. Excessive silt in the tank has reduced the storage capacity. Lack of regular desiltation leads to inadequate water supply for irrigation. Also the water table in the village has dropped because of a long drought. This has had serious impact on the economy of the village, as agriculture is the primary source of livelihood and the tank is the main source of irrigation. Management of the tank and regular desilting was a responsibility of the village committee in the past. The forest department, which is currently in charge of tank management, has (for several reasons) not been able to manage the tank effectively. One of the reasons cited is that management of Chittarangudi sanctuary is low on priority in the FD’s allocation of funds, and even when funds are allocated they usually come at the end of the financial year and not when money is required. This seems to have had an impact on the nesting birds as well; according to the villagers, the bird population in the monsoon of 2000 was much less than in previous years.

4. The number of trees in and around the tank has gone up (mainly Acacia nilotica) but canopy cover has gone down, and many of the old trees are dying because of age (and excess bird droppings on the leaves of the trees). This will have an impact on the nesting birds in the heronry.

5. The nature of association between the villagers and the tank is changing. There is increased out-migration of young people and thus agriculture may not be the primary source of livelihood for the village anymore. The reduced dependence on the tank may have negative impact on the heronry.