808 winged guests arrive in Chandigarh for winter sojourn

Tribune News Service

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, December 30

With a dip in temperature, 22 species of winged guests have arrived at Sukhna Lake and other water bodies in the city. A pair of Dunlin has arrived here for winter sojourn after a gap of a year from the trans-Himalayan region after traversing through China.

The Department of Forest and Wildlife carried out a counting of migratory birds at Sukhna Lake, Dhanas Lake and other water bodies located within the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary here on December 27 and 28. During the counting, 808 birds of 22 species were spotted in these areas. The counting was done by point sampling method, said Debendra Dalai, Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, UT.

He said dunlins that migrated from the trans-Himalayan region were not seen last year. These birds were spotted this year. “The number of migratory birds is expected to increase further with a further dip in the mercury and the severity of winter,” he said. He, however, said pintail ducks, which come in large numbers, are comparatively fewer this year.

A total of 164 Indian spot billed ducks were sighted, followed by 155 common pochard during the two-day enumeration of migratory birds. However, only one each little egret and little grebe and a pair each of dunlin and purple heron were spotted during the survey. Similarly, three each tufted pochard and darter and two pairs each of gadwall, Indian pond heron and black-necked grebe were seen in various water bodies during the counting.

The other common species that arrived at the lake are common coot, black-winged stilt, large cormorant, ruddy shelduck, common moorhen, little cormorant, Eurasian teal, grey heron, northern shoveler, Indian pond heron, red-wattled lapwing, black-necked grebe and white-tailed lapwing. The birds start arriving every year by mid-November from Siberia, Central Asia, China, Afghanistan and the upper Himalayas and stay till March or April, depending upon the climatic conditions. As the birds prefer shallow water for feeding and the water in the lake is quite high, the department has created floating islands for the migratory birds in Sukhna Lake. “The department has created islands out of bamboo for perching of birds. There are no natural mudflats in Sukhna Lake. Migratory birds are using these bamboo wraps as the depth of water of the lake is comparatively high this year,” he said. Dalai said these floating islands were created for winged guests to bask, rest and sleep during their winter journey in the lake.

Watchers’ delight

Mohali: A wide variety of migratory birds, including bar-headed goose, common coot, grey heron, crested grebe and red-crested pochard, have arrived at the Mote Majra pond here as well. Bird watcher Kulbhushan Kanwar said a lone hybrid duck, a rarely sighted bird, had been spotted at the Dhanas lake. A pintail had also been sighted at Mote Majra. Bird watchers said the number of birds at Mote Majra was relatively higher than Sukhna Lake. Food availability, secure environment and resting area were crucial to attracting a bird to a particular destination, said experts. TNS

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