CUTTACK (KAKHADI): At least 165 Indian Skimmers have arrived at the sand bed of Mahanadi river at Kakhadi in Athagarh this year for nesting and laying eggs, the Forest department informed.
Khuntuni forest range officer Nilamadhab Sahu said the Indian Skimmers have so far laid around 82 eggs of which 35 have hatched as of now. “Steps have been taken to protect both eggs and the hatchlings and awareness drive undertaken in the locality involving educational institutions, residents and fishermen,” he said.
The endangered birds have reportedly been migrating from Southern Asia since the last four years for mass nesting as the site is considered a safe breeding ground.
According to experts, the skimmers come to the place for nesting and laying eggs from February and stay till hatching in May after which they return back. With the water level of the Mahanadi river remaining low at the site during this period, the sand bed at Kakhadi provides a favourable environment for the purpose. The Indian Skimmers scrape the ground to make a shallow depression for laying their eggs. The rim of a scrape nest is just deep enough to keep the eggs from rolling away. The eggs usually take 25 to 30 days to hatch.
Earlier, the birds used to congregate at the banks of the Mahanadi river near Mundali barrage under Chandaka Wildlife Division here. However, the site slowly got threatened by habitat loss and degradation, pollution and disturbance by humans.