Bhubaneswar: Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, Chilika Lake has welcomed a record number of 11.37 lakh migratory birds this winter, according to a census conducted by the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change.
“Chilika lagoon is proud to host 11.37 lakh birds as per today’s census results. It’s the largest wintering ground for migratory birds in the Indian Subcontinent. Now for the second consecutive year, it is hosting more than one Million birds,” said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife, Susanta Nanda in his social media handle, X.
According to official sources, a total of 11,37,759 birds were recorded in the lake this year. This is around 5,830 more than the previous year, when 11.31 lakh avian guests had visited the lake.
A total of 187 species of birds were found during the census while last year 184 species visited the lake.
In Nalabana Bird Sanctuary in the lake, enumerators found a total of 3,47,280 birds against the count of 3,42,897 birds during last year’s census. In Nalabana, 4383 more birds visited this year in comparison to previous year.
Among the counts, Northern Pintail (2,18,650), Gadwall (1,56,636), Eurasia wigeon(1,40,322) have been sighted this year.
During the census, the officials found one Pallas fish eagle after a long gap of about 10 years.
The bird count was carried out for all water bird species and wetland-dependent birds. Ornithologists said they spotted ‘River Lapwing’, a migratory bird, which visited the lake after almost a decade. Although the exact reason behind the rise in the number of migratory birds in the 1,100 sq km lake is yet to be ascertained, forest officials attributed it to the availability of food and no disturbance in the area.
The winged guests from far-off places, including the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, remote parts of Russia, central and southeast Asia, Ladakh and Himalayas, descend to the lake every winter for feeding and roosting. They start their homeward journey with the onset of summer.
