Sambalpur: The mid-winter waterfowl census started in Hirakud reservoir, Thursday morning. The head counting of the migratory birds started 6 am in the morning and will continue till 1 pm in the afternoon, official sources said.
In the bird census 2020 as many as 21 teams comprising of forest staff of Samablpur, Hirakud and Jharsuguda divisions have been engaged in the exercise.
Jitendra Kumar Behera Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), Hirakud Wildlife Division informed, “The Hirakud reservoir has been divided into 18 sectors while the power channel has been divided into 3 sectors. 14 non-motorised boats, six motorised boats and one other vehicle have been deployed for the movement of the census team.”
Staffs with designations like guards, ACFs, range officers, veterinary surgeons, ornithologists, wildlife enthusiasts and local bird club members are engaged in the census.
Students from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology in Bhubaneswar have also been roped in for the census drive.
Assistant Conservator of Forest Jitendra Kumar Behera said, “The teams have been provided with GPS, route charts, maps, binoculars and sophisticated cameras for counting the migratory birds at the reservoir.”
As per forest authorities, avian species started flocking Hirakud Dam towards mid-November 2020. The forest department made elaborate arrangements to protect the winged guests with regular patrolling on boats.
“Bird protection teams have also been deployed at several places including Zero Point, Barakhandia, Parbatitong and Gobindpur around the reservoir to curb any bird poaching bid,” informed the ACF.
In 2019, the wildlife teams spotted a total of 92 bird species and around 1,45,946 avian guests in Hirakud (WL) Division and forest divisions of Sambalpur & Jharsuguda during the annual census drive.
The birds mostly arrived from Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Mongolia besides Central and South East Asia.
Meanwhile in 2018, a total of 82 bird species and around 1,36,835 migratory birds were spotted in Hirakud reservoir. In comparison to last year’s data, the recently conducted census showed a marginal increase in the head count of avian species during the winter season.
PNN
