COIMBATORE: A total of 332 bird species were spotted until Friday across the state during the Pongal Bird Count, organised by Tamil Birders Network. The number has been listed on the e-Bird online platform. Sources said number will be go up, as many birders will be adding their sightings in the coming days.
Sharing his experience, Surendhar Boopalan, a government school teacher and coordinator of Pondicherry Birders Network, said he, along with three of his team members, had covered 52 lakes in Puducherry, Villuppuram, and Cuddalore and en route to the lakes for four days, starting January 14, recording 129 species of birds.
“The number of birds is lower during this year, for the people are dumping waste in lakes unaware of the presence of domestic and migratory birds. We have spotted many duck species, like Northern Pintail and Northern Shovelers, in the lakes. This may be because there is more water in the lakes, thanks to the monsoon,” he said, adding the number of Eurasian spoonbill birds visiting the area is on the decline, as he said he had spotted the bird species only in one area.
“We need to conduct a study to know about the exact reasons,” said Boopalan, who has been birding for the last 13 years.
V Kalaiselvan. a birder from Salem, has travelled 538 km in three days, recording 130 bird species by covering 20 blocks across the district.
Speaking to TNIE, Kalaiselvan said except for a few lakes, the number of birds, especially shorebirds, are less due to the brimming lakes. “I have noticed more water birds on trees near the lakes during the evening. I have seen rare migratory birds like Barn swallow from Himalayas and another European migratory bird, the Northern Pintail, in most of the lakes.
Likewise, Grey wagtail another migratory bird from Europe was spotted at a stream in Yercaud. Among all the birds, the white-naped tit is a vulnerable species as per International Union for Conservation of Nature and was spotted in Mettur,” said Kalaiselvan. In the Pongal Bird Count last year, a total of 345 bird species were spotted by 437 birders. Last year, Common Myna was spotted in large numbers among domestic birds.