COIMBATORE: The third phase of the synchronised bird census across Tamil Nadu began on Saturday as department staff and NGO volunteers were briefed by the State forest department along with experts.
For the first time, the State decided in 2021 to conduct a synchronised survey of birds in protected areas including coastal regions, wetlands and forest areas including five tiger reserves in the district. The survey was decided to be held in three phases.
The first in coastal regions was done on January 28 and 29 when over 100 species and close to a million birds were found in the State with "long walls" of Greater flamingos in Point Calimere and Ramanathapuram areas.
The second was done in 339 wetlands in 25 districts on February 14. However, the population was lesser compared to the previous year due to water conditions in the wetlands, officials said.
Speaking to TNIE, Supriya Sahu, the Principal Secretary of Environment, Climate Change and Forest Department, said, "We have completed the bird survey in coastal and wetlands and the results are showing a good trend and this is the first time we are conducting the same in forest areas. The census figures will give an idea of bird migration and the status of resident birds in an area."
"The forest and tree cover area of the State now is 30,952 sq km which is 23.80% of the total area of Tamil Nadu. The census to identify species and abundance of tree-dwelling birds, perching birds or songbirds, and ground-feeding birds that spend the majority of their lives in terrestrial environments will be carried out across Tamil Nadu on Sunday."
Of the total forest cover, over 150 enumerators including forest staff along with volunteers from NGOs like WWF, Coimbatore Nature Society and The Nature and Butterfly Society will survey four forest ranges (spread across 51, 182 hectare) under Pollachi forest division in Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) and seven forest ranges (695 sq km) under Coimbatore forest division.
Supriya Sahu said that the department will release the figures within the next few weeks after compiling figures from all the districts.
S Ramasubramanian, Conservator of Forests and Field Director of ATR, said, "Staff have been told to cover all types of forests across the Coimbatore district such as dry deciduous, every green, Shola (stunted tropical montane forest), moist deciduous.
Three to five members have been deputed as a team for this." Apart from this, a State forest department official said that they will conduct a survey of vultures, an endangered raptor was not included in the synchronised bird census, in August.
"We will soon convene preliminary discussions with Kerala and Karnataka forest department officers and we are scheduled to conduct it in August," the official said.