Mayurbhanj/Bhubaneswar: After Chilika, the migratory bird census kicked off at various locations in Odisha on Wednesday morning. Counting of avian guests is underway in the Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, Koraput, and Puri districts.
In Mayurbhanj, the bird census has started in Similipal and more than 100 places in the district. The census is underway at various reservoirs and wetlands under Baripada, Karanjia, and Rairangpur forest ranges.
More than 150 Forest Department employees have been engaged in the census which will continue till Thursday in Bentati, Udala, Dewali, Bangiriposhi, and other areas. Besides the Forest Department staff, students from the Wildlife Department at the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technical (OUAT) and Maharaja Sriramchandra Bhanjdeo University have also been engaged in the census work.
The bird census has also started at the Brahmagiri forest division near the Chilika Lake, Bonai forest division, and Koraput. The census personnel have been divided into several teams and each team has been provided with binoculars, two-way radio sets, global positioning system (GPS) sets and other equipment to carry out the task.
The census work is underway in five ranges in Puri district and at six ranges in Rairakhol and Daspalla in Nayagarh district. In Koraput, the census work is underway at 23 locations, including Dasamantapur, Narayanpatna, Baghra, Ranigarh, Kolab, Kechala, and Dangarmaliguda.
