Kendrapara: With the winter season coming to an end, migratory birds have started their homeward journey from the Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara district, said Rajnagar forest ranger Surjit Sahu.
Although thousands of birds have started their return trip, there are still several flocks which have not yet gone back from the park’s meadows and water bodies as they have not yet dried up, the ranger said.
Every year with the arrival of winter, the water bodies of Bhitarkanika turn colourful as migratory birds come here flying thousands of miles to escape the harsh winter in Siberia, Afghanistan, Iraq, North Asia and Central Europe. They generally stay in the park for about three to four months and then go back after the water bodies begin to dry.
As many 1,18,326 birds of 105 species thronged the national park this year, as per the mid-winter bird status survey, 2020.
This year, geese and ducks formed more than 70 percent of the total visitors. An estimated 78,314 birds belonging to 14 species of geese and ducks were spotted during the status survey of migratory birds.
After half a decade, spot-billed ducks, enlisted in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Data List, were once again sighted in the park. Ten spot-billed ducks were spotted in Satabhaya area. This time, 32,581 northern pintails visited Bhitarkanka, said Sahu.
Bhitarkanika is a refuge for migratory birds during winter. Lack of human interference, congenial environs and rich food reserve attract the avian visitors to the national park from far away, said Bikash Ranjan Dash, divisional forest officer of Rajnagar mangrove (forest) and wildlife division.