More than a lakh winter birds recorded in 54 Bengal wetlands in just 3 weeks

Kolkata: Presence of almost 2% of global population of threatened

great knot

, a shorebird, on a Sunderbans island, a 1,000-plus rise in number of birds at Santragachhi and and the rare sighting of

black-necked grebe

in the Sunderbans region are some of the biggest takeaways of the annual water bird census 2021, which covered 54 wetlands in Bengal and recorded 1,23,675 birds with over 65 species. It was conducted between January 12 and February 2 by the forest department in association with NGOs, a preliminary report of which was released on Tuesday — World Wetlands Day.

One of the biggest observations, as per Prakriti Samsad’s Apurba Chakraborty, is presence of about 3,000 great knots — an endangered species, whose population globally may not exceed 1,50,000 — on Jambudweep island. “Finding 2% of its global population here is a great find. They breed in Russia and Mongolia. The sighting shows that Jambudweep is a good feeding resource for the birds,” he said.

They also sighted a black-necked grebe on Matla river, which, as per Chakraborty, is probably its first record from the Sunderbans region. Sujan Chatterjee, secretary of Birdwatchers’ Society, which also took part in the census, said the bird was earlier sighted in north Bengal. “But, in south Bengal it is rare,” Chatterjee said, adding that conservation efforts to save wetlands here are yielding results.

Arjan Basu Roy, secretary of Nature Mates, that conducted the census at Santragachhi and East Midnapore, said there has been a rise of more than 1,000 in number of birds visiting the Howrah water body this year. “On January 16, our members counted over 5,600 birds at Santragachhi and on January 9, there were more than 6,000 birds. Last year, we had counted 4,700-plus birds,” added Basu Roy. According to him, they also found birds in good numbers in East Midnapore and Nadia. Among other NGOs that took part is Nature Environment & Wildlife Society.

“This year, the department covered many lesser-known water bodies. Over 800 persons, including forest staff and NGO members, took part,” said V K Yadav, chief wildlife warden. “To get an idea on health of wetlands by observing migratory birds, one should also focus on smaller water bodies that too are frequented by these birds,” said Basu Roy.

In north Bengal, 7,000 birds were noted each in Fulbari and Gajoldoba. “Pallas’s fish eagle was sighted in Cooch Behar’s Folimari,” said Animesh Bose of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation. On being asked about possible impact of lockdown, Chakraborty said: “These birds prefer to take rest during their journey. Less disturbance on their flyways this time, probably because of lockdown, has perhaps resulted in better sighting.”