Khurda: The counting of migratory birds started in Chilika Lake, the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia, on Thursday. Bird counting is being done in Satpada, Rambha, Balugaon, Tangi and Chilika ranges under the Chilika Wildlife Division from 6.00 am to 12.00 pm today.
Chilika has been divided into five zones for bird counting and a total of 21 teams have been engaged in the counting work. Eight teams have been engaged in the Tangi zone, five in Balugaon, three in Satpada, and the remaining five teams are in the Rambha and Krishnaprasad zones.
Altogether 21 teams comprising 120 members are engaged in bird counting. Of the 21 teams, 11 teams are involved in the counting process in the Tangi range. Each team comprises six to seven enumerators and GPS, binoculars will be used for counting the birds visiting the lake this year.
The team consists of members from the Wildlife Department, Forest Department, OUAT students, activists of social organisations Wild Orissa and Wildies, and members of three bird conservation societies in the Tangi range and BNHS.
The number of birds that have come to Chilika this year, both on land and in water, will be counted. Every year in the winter season, colourful migratory birds come to Chilika after crossing thousands of miles. Last year, 10,74,000 migratory birds came to Chilika, while in 2021, a record number of 12,42,826 birds visited the lake. Similarly, 11,05,040 birds came in 2020. It is estimated that the number of migratory birds will increase this year.
