NAGAPATTINAM: Students of GHSS Kodiyakarai peeked through binoculars and jotted down notes as soon as they spotted a bird species during the annual land bird census in Point Calimere Wildlife and Birds Sanctuary in Kodiyakarai which commenced on Saturday.
The forest department conducts the census for two days (March 2 and 3) to register the presence of land birds and their abundance in each species at the sanctuary for the particular year. B Ayub Khan, the forest range officer in Vedaranyam, led the census as per the directions of Nagapattinam Wildlife Warden Abhishek Tomar and Chief Conservator of Forests N Satheesh.
"We are recording the birds on Saturday morning and Sunday evening to find the average number of land birds and species at the sanctuary. We divided the participants into ten teams for ten transects and sent them to places across Kodiyakarai and Kodiyakadu," Ranger Khan said. Foresters, forest guards, and poaching watchers from the department, students from the Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS) and researchers from the Bombay Natural History Society in Kodiyakadu also participated.
The students were guided by department staff and researchers. The forest department also issued manuals and used mobile apps to confirm the species. The teams visited several places such as Thambusamy Rest House, Sithar Temple, Muniappan Lake, Tribal Colony, Muniyan Temple, Old Railway Line, Herbal Forest, Peralam water body, Six Foot Bridge, Nandupallam and Kalavaikarai.
The survey is set to resume on Sunday evening. After the census, Dr S Balachandran, an ornithologist and deputy director of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) said, "We spotted migratory birds such as Golden Oriole and Blyth's Reed Warbler and local birds such as Black Drango, Common Myna and Indian Roller in the forest region on Saturday.
Many species of migratory birds can be found at the sanctuary from October to March." The bird census in Kodiyakarai is part of a statewide survey called 'Tamil Nadu Synchronised Bird Census' conducted by the forest department across the state. Earlier, the census on water birds was conducted on January 27 and 28. Following the surveys, the census of land birds is currently being conducted, according to sources.