Balugaon: The annual bird census began in Chilika Lake on Tuesday morning.
According to reports, 21 teams comprising 111 Forest Department officials will carry out the census. The surveyor teams will also include staffers of Chilika Development Authority (CDA), experts from Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), ornithologists, and the members of the Pakhi Suraksha Samiti.
The census is underway in the Satapada area in Puri district, Rambha in Ganjam district, and Mangalajodi and Balugaon in Khurda district.
The census will continue till 2 pm.
Forest Department sources said around 200 bird species have thronged the lake this year.
Spread over Puri, Khurda, and Ganjam districts, the lake covers an area of around 1,100 sq km.
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