BERHAMPUR/PURI: Ornithologists in Odisha were excited as a highly endangered Pallas's fish eagle was among the 11.37 lakh winged creatures sighted during the annual census in the Chilika lagoon, the largest wintering ground for migratory birds in the Indian Subcontinent, an official said.
The Pallas's fish eagle was found in the Nalabana bird sanctuary area in the lake during the mid-winter waterbird survey in the lagoon conducted by the Chilika Wildlife Division on Thursday.
"This middle-sized bird was re-sighted in the blue lagoon after a gap of around ten years," said the divisional forest officer (DFO), Chilika Wildlife Division, Amlan Nayak.
The bird might have flown to the lake from beyond the Himalayan region, he said.
The number of feathered guests visiting the vast lake this winter has also increased by a few thousand compared to that in the previous winter, Nayak said.
As many as 11,37,759 birds of 187 species have been counted in the 1100 square kilometre lake spread over Ganjam, Puri and Khurda districts of Odisha. Of these birds, 10, 98,813 of 108 species were migratory birds and 38,946 of 79 species were residents of the lagoon, said the DFO.
In the last winter (2023), as many as 11, 31,929 birds of 184 different species had taken shelter in the lake. These included 10, 93,049 waterfowls of 105 species and 38,880 water-dependent birds of 79 species, sources said.
The increase in the number of migratory birds was attributed to the safety measures taken by the wildlife authorities and the improvement of the habitat in the lake, said the DFO adding that there was not a single poaching case reported in the lake this winter.
Among the most prominent species found this year were ducks, the Northern Pintail (2,18,654), Gadwall (1,56,636), Eurasian wigeon (1,40,322), black-tailed godwit (66,853) and common coot (66,552).
The winged guests from far-off places including the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, remote parts of Russia, Central and South East Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas descend in the lake every winter for feeding and roosting. They start their homeward journey with the onset of summer.
The annual bird census in the lake was carried out by the Chilika Wildlife Division, Chilika and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
Around 130 enumerators, including experts, forest officials, and wildlife activists engaged to carry out the bird count in 21 units.
At least 21 teams comprising 5-6 ornithologists each were deployed in the counting of the migratory and domestic birds in the Chilika lagoon.
Taking to X, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Susant Nanda said: "Chilika lagoon is proud to host 11.37 lakh birds as per today's census results. It's the largest wintering ground for migratory birds in the Indian Subcontinent. Now for the second consecutive year, it is hosting more than one Million birds."
Nanda said that as the water level was low and the winter chill had not been intense this time, they were expecting a fall in the number of birds visiting the lake in 2024.
However, that did not happen.