Kaziranga sees an increase with 84,839 birds, marking a 27% rise from previous count
Bokakhat (Assam), Jan 12 (PTI) The fifth water-bird census in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) has recorded a 27 per cent rise in bird count with the presence of 84,839 feathered guests, placing the park among the top five in the country in terms of presence of resident and winter-migratory birds in the country, an official said on Friday.
For the first time, the census recorded the presence of the gull-billed tern in KNPTR, park director Sonali Ghosh told reporters.
The census conducted in 115 waterbodies spread across the three divisions of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve recorded 84,839 birds as against the last count of 66,776 in 2021-22.
The Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, comprising mostly of the Kaziranga National Park area, recorded 37,606 birds and the highest 13,084 individuals of a single species, bar-headed goose, was recorded at Sohola Beel (waterbody).
Rowmari beel under Nagaon Wildlife Division recorded the highest 19,301 birds across all wetlands with the highest of 8,960 northern pintails reported.
In the Bishwanath Wildlife Division, the highest abundance of 2,727 individual birds was reported in Dipora area under Eastern Range Gamiri followed by 2,520 individuals at Kutainee beel under Western Nagshankar Range.
The Kaziranga-Hukuma beel in Biswanath recorded 3,049 birds while the Joysagar Doloni in Kaliabor recorded 1,765 feathered guests highlighting their conservation and protection.
Other notable wetlands adjoining the KNPTR that recorded significant bird presence were Gonak beel with 973 birds, Sahala beel with 424 and Sisubari beel with 348 individuals.
Some of the unique, rare and endangered species reported during the present census are baer’s pochard, baikal teal, greater scaup, gull-billed tern, greater-white fronted goose, great crested grebe, pallas’s gull, black stork, black headed gull and cotton pygmy goose among others, Ghosh said.
Notable avian inhabitants of KNPTR include the Bengal florican, swamp francolin, and various species of raptors, vultures, and waterfowl.
According to the recent e-bird database, 603 bird species have been recorded in and around Kaziranga.
''The results of the census reinstates the importance of Kaziranga wetlands as a globally important habitat for local and migratory water-birds'', the director said.
The census was conducted on January 10 as a single-day exercise involving a large number of bird experts as enumerators, forest frontline staff and they were supported by volunteers from more than 30 educational institutions, NGOs and other organisations, thereby making it one of the largest Citizen Science movements of the country in recent years, Ghosh added.
There are over 200 wetlands across the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve and a significant area of the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries are protected as part of the 6th Addition of Kaziranga National Park and 1st Addition of Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary.
Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve extends over 1302 sqkm with a significant area of over 50 per cent of the landmass under grasslands interspersed with waterbodies, locally known as beels. These, along with the main channel of the River Brahmaputra, Dhansiri, Difloo and Laokhowa Suti rivers provide a unique habitat for both resident and migratory birds.
Recognizing its unique ecological significance, it has been listed as an Important Bird Area (IBA IN390) by Bombay Natural History Society and BirdLife International that maintains a global registry of IBA in the world. PTI
