Khurdha: The bird population in Chilika, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, has increased this year by over 5000 as compared to last season.
The Chilika Wildlife Division which conducted the annual bird census on Friday revealed that 11,37,759 winged guests of 187 species took shelter in the lagoon while it was 11,31,929 of 184 species last year, said Amlan Nayak, DFO, Chilika Wildlife Division.
The Nalabana island inside the lake continued to be the most favorite destination for the winged guests, as the highest number of migratory birds took shelter in the sanctuary area this year.
The study revealed that this winter a total of 3,47,280 migratory birds took shelter at the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary area.
It is a matter of delight that Pallas’s fish eagle returned after a gap of 10 years.
This year, the highest number of Northern Pintails (2,18,650) have visited the lake. Similarly, 1,56,636 Gadwall and 1,40,322 Eurasia birds were found during the census.
Around 100 experts, including ornithologists from Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) in Mumbai, officials of wildlife organisations, WWF and wildlife activists took part in the bird count in the lake.
