KENDRAPARA: Forest officials and ornithologists spotted rare species of ducks at Bhitarkanika National Park while conducting the winter census for birds recently.“We have found a Mallard (dabbling duck) and two comb ducks at the National Park,” said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Bimal Prasanna Acharya.
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) breeds throughout temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia and other regions.
It is found in both fresh and salt water wetland, including parks, small ponds, rivers, lakes and estuaries and shallow inlets. The comb duck (Sarkidiornis sylvicola) is an unusual duck found in tropical wetland in continental South America, south to the Paraguay river region in eastern Paraguay, southeastern Brazil and the extreme northeast of Argentina and as a vagrant on Trinidad, added the forest officer.
Both these species are vulnerable to a variety of threats, including hunting, loss of nesting trees, conversion and degradation of wetland and agricultural changes. “Recently, we counted 1,12,937 birds of 83 species during the annual census. The sight of some rare birds are baffling wildlife officials and ornithologists”, Acharya said.
In 1981, noted ornithologist Salim Ali visited Bhitarkanika. Overwhelmed by its beauty at Bagagahana within the park’s limits, he had suggested that the Government should declare it as a biosphere zone and protect its serene environment and wildlife. “The proposal is yet to be implemented,” said Sudhansu Parida, an environmentalist and secretary of the district unit of Peoples for Animal.