Bhubaneswar: More than 1 million birds visited Odisha’s Chilika Lake, according to the annual bird census that concluded on Thursday.
Total 21 teams were engaged in the mid-winter survey of both migratory and domestic birds across the lagoon spread over 5 forest ranges of Balugaon, Chilika, Tangi, Satapada and Rambha in three districts of Khurda, Puri and Ganjam.
According to sources, each team comprising five members was headed by an expert, deployed by Chilika Wildlife Division. They used the e-Bird app in the counting process for the first time for better documentation.
The sources said this year, the number of birds spotted in the lake was more than the last year. At the end of the census on the day, 11,37,759 birds were counted in Chilika, , which is the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia. These birds belonged to 187 species, while 11,31,929 birds were counted in the last census, they added.
Pallas Fish Eagle, a rare species of birds, was also spotted in the lake during the census after 10 years.
The census team counted 1,40,382 Wilson, 2,18,254 Northern Printel, 2,18,254 Garhwal and 1,56,636 Common Kurt birds in the lagoon this season.
The winged guests, mostly from Russia, Central Asia, Australia and New Zealand visit Chilika Lake every winter to escape the biting cold in their homelands. They engage in breeding and nesting in the lake due to plenty of food available in the area.
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