Kendrapara: There has been a significant increase in the population of nesting birds in Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district during this monsoon season.
According to an official of the park, 130,123 birds belonging to ten species were counted during the recently concluded census showing an increase of 6,265 vis-à-vis the last census in 2023 when Forest officials sighted 1,23,867 birds.
The Forest officials counted birds in 27,282 nests atop 1,300 mangrove trees this season. The census report only includes the birds that were counted using the direct count method.
The census teams monitored all the water bodies and mangrove forest areas of Mathadia, Balida, Laxmiprasaddia, and Durgaprasaddia heronries in and around the Bhitarkanika National Park.
Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Bhitarkanika National Park said that the increase in the number of birds visiting Bhitarkanika is a good sign for bird conservation programmes in the state.
Abundant fish in the rivers and creeks and distance from human habitation have made it a suitable place for breeding of birds. Watching these birds make and mend nests, collect green twigs for building and repairing nests, lay, incubate, hatch eggs, feed fledglings, guard them from predators, and cover them with outspread wings to protect them from scorching rays of sun and heavy downpours is a sight to behold, said the Forest officer.
