Wildlife & Biodiversity

Winged birds flock Chilika a little early this time

Odisha wildlife officials spotted 22,000 birds of 62 different species in the Chilika lake till October 20, 2021

 
By Hrusikesh Mohanty
Published: Thursday 21 October 2021
Odisha wildlife officials have spotted 22,000 birds of 62 different species in the Chilika lake till October 20, 2021. Photo: By special arrangement

The winter chill is yet to set in Odisha, but the winged guests have started to arrive in Chilika — the biggest waterfowl habitat in the country in the country — after marathon flights of millions of miles.

Wildlife officials in the state spotted approximately 22,000 birds of 62 different species in the 1,100-square-kilometre-vast lake till October 20, 2021, said Sarat Chandra Mishra, assistant conservator of forests (ACF), Chilika wildlife division.

Over 5,000 of them descended in the 15.69 square kilometres-long Nalaban bird sanitary area inside the lake.

The arrival of migratory birds was sighted in the second week of October, about a week later than last year, he said. The migratory birds including northern pintail, gadwall, shovellers, common coot and several others found in the lake at present.

Several birds are sighted flying near Chilika without plunging in the lake. They land once the water level recedes in the lake: “We expected them to arrive in large numbers by the end of October.”

As many as 1,242,826 birds of 190 different species were enumerated in the blue lagoon in the annual bird survey of birds last winter, sources said.

“The water level of the blue lagoon is high due to the heavy rains that lashed September and October.  Migratory birds may find it difficult to get food in the submerged water body. This may be why they delayed their arrival to the lagoon,” said UN Dev, ornithologist.

Ornithologists said non-availability of food may have prompted the birds to migrate to safer places, including Chilika.

S Balachandran, senior official in the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), said birds start their homeward journey or to other destinations when the temperature increased to around 40 degree Celsius. It is 30-32 degree Celsius currently.

The winged guests — mostly from beyond the Himalayas in the Northern Eurasia, Caspian region, Siberia, Kazakh, Lake Baikal and the remote areas of Russia and neighboring countries — visit the Chilika every winter and start their homeward journey before onset of summer.

Balchandran said all birds that arrive in Chilika do not winter in the lake. Some of them take rest while winged their ways to some other destinations towards the eastern India states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The Chilika Wildlife Division, meanwhile, has set up 21 camps to prevent bird poaching during the season. At least 60 additional people have been hired to engage in temporary camps.

The camps will function till the end of March, said ACF. They arrested as many as 15 bird poachers in the lake in 2020, he said. 

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