Migratory Bird Census Begins At Hirakud Dam Reservoir

Sambalpur: The annual enumeration of migratory birds at Hirakud Dam Reservoir began on Thursday morning. The head counting of the avian species began at 6 AM and will continue till 1 PM today, said a forest official.

As many as 21 teams comprising forest staff of Sambalpur, Hirakud and Jharsuguda divisions have been engaged in the exercise.

"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," informed Jitendra Kumar Behera Assistant Conservator Of Forest (ACF), Hirakud Wildlife Division.

The bird counting teams include forest officials like guards, ACFs, range officers, apart from veterinary surgeons, ornithologists, wildlife enthusiasts and local bird club members. Students from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology in Bhubaneswar have also been roped in for the census drive.

The teams have been provided with GPS, route charts, maps, binoculars and sophisticated cameras for counting the migratory birds at the reservoir, ACF Jitendra Kumar Behera said.

As per the 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.

Last year, more than 1,45,946 migratory birds of 92 species were spotted during the census in Hirakud Dam Reservoir in 2019. The birds mostly arrived from Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Mongolia besides Central and South East Asia.

Similarly in 2018, over 1,36,835 waterfowl ranging from 82 species were found flocking the waters of the reseroir.

(Edited by Surayakant Jena)

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