Nanmangalam Reserve Forest is a protected area located in the southern part of Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, about 24 km from the city centre. It is located at Medavakkam

Medavakkam

Medavakkam is one among the southern suburbs of Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu. It is a residential municipality close to the Chennai Airport and is adjacent to the suburbs of Sholinganallur, Madipakkam, Selaiyur, Keelkattalai, Velachery and Tambaram and it is center place to the...

 between Velachery

Velachery

-Geography:Velachery has mostly areas of hard rock, and a big marshland in the southern region of the area. It is said that this marshland was once a natural bird sanctuary. But nowadays, due to encroachment and rapid real estate development, the sanctuary has disappeared. Even today there is a big...

 and Tambaram

Tambaram

Tambaram is a suburb of Chennai situated 27 km south of the city in Tamil Nadu, India. It is an urban node. Tambaram is a hub to all major destinations in south Tamil Nadu as it lies on the busy Chennai–Trichy national highway. The highway and the railway line from Chennai Egmore to...

. The reserve forest

Reserve forest

You may be looking for forest reserve, a generic term associated with protected forest areas, which is also used as a specific term for protected forests in some countries...

 has an area of 320 hectares. However, the total area of the forest is 2,400 hectares.
The forest is popular among bird watchers and is home to about 85 species of birds. Red-wattled Lapwing

Red-wattled Lapwing

The Red-wattled Lapwing is a lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. It has characteristic loud alarm calls which are variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to colloquial names like the did-he-do-it bird...

, Honey Buzzard

Honey Buzzard

The European Honey Buzzard , is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers....

, Grey Partridge

Grey Partridge

The Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix, also known as the English Partridge, Hungarian Partridge, or Hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds...

, Coucal

Coucal

A coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites...

, Indian Eagle-owl, White-breasted Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

The Pied Kingfisher is a water kingfisher and is found widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Their black and white plumage, crest and the habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish makes it distinctive. Males have a double band across the breast while females have a...

, Southern Bush Lark and Red-whiskered Bulbul

Red-whiskered Bulbul

The Red-whiskered Bulbul is a passerine bird found in Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It is a resident frugivore found mainly in tropical Asia. It has been introduced in many tropical areas of the world where populations have established themselves...

are commonly seen birds in the area.

The 320-hectare Nanmangalam Reserved Forest, located about 10 km from Velachery, is home to some of the rare territorial orchids, according to a recent study.

The state forest department has entrusted the work of data collection in this small forest area to Care Earth, a bio-diversity research organisation. Located near Medavakkam, a rapidly developing residential locality, the forest needs immediate fencing to protect it from encroachment and to curtail any non-forestry activity there, the study says.