Bird census in Puri concludes

Puri: The bird census undertaken by the Puri Forest Division at sea beach and near river banks in Puri district concluded on Friday. For the first time, the experts have found Little Green Heron and Peregrine Falcon in the bank of river Devi.

"The little green heron is generally sighted at Bhitarkanika. We have traced that bird for the first time near Devi River,” said ornithologist Dr Gohar Abedin.

As many as 25 teams were constituted to participate in the census for the head count of birds. “We have sighted many species this year. Sea beach area, mangroves and other water bodies in the district have been covered. Over 55 species have been sighted in Brahmagiri and 27 species of winged guests have been traced in Devi river bed. We will soon compile the data to find out the exact figure," DFO Harshavardhan Udgata said.

A total 30,000 species of birds were found in coastal areas last year. However, there is a drop in the number this year, forest officials stated.

Similarly, over 12,000 species of birds including some foreign birds were traced along Astarang coast last year while this year only 10,746 country and foreign birds have been identified, the officials added.