Winged visitors start arriving in Chandigarh - Hindustan Times
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Winged visitors start arriving in Chandigarh

ByRachna Verma, Chandigarh
Nov 02, 2019 12:02 AM IST

Experts say fewer migratory birds are expected to visit Sukhna Lake this season

With the change in weather, migratory birds have started arriving in Chandigarh.

Black winged stilts, a specie widely distributed throughout shallow wetlands of tropical and temperate region, spotted at Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh on Friday.(Keshav Singh)
Black winged stilts, a specie widely distributed throughout shallow wetlands of tropical and temperate region, spotted at Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh on Friday.(Keshav Singh)

A variety of winged visitors can be spotted at water bodies in and around the City Beautiful between November and March.

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“Every year Sukhna Lake acts as a home for numerous migratory birds from the Himalayas and far-off places, such as Europe, Japan, China and Central Asia,” said Rima Dhillon, secretary of Chandigarh Bird Club.

The common species that can be seen here during the season are common pochards, tufted ducks and greylag. “However, for the past two years, the number of migratory birds visiting Chandigarh has declined, though the number of species has shown an upward trend,” said Dhillon, adding that fewer birds are expected this year because of the rise in Sukhna water level.

 According to data collected by Chandigarh Bird Club, 417 migratory birds of 31 species were spotted at Sukhna Lake in the last season. In the season before that, 717 birds of 28 species were spotted.

TC Nautiyal, conservator of forest in Chandigarh, confirmed there are chances of fewer migratory birds visiting the city this year.

Explaining the reason, Vikram Jit Singh, a wildlife columnist and member of the UT Chandigarh State Wildlife Advisory Board, said: “Migratory birds at Sukhna Lake will be fewer in numbers this season as deep, open sheets of water tend to submerge or finish aquatic vegetation that birds feed on.”

Singh said most birds are not fish-eaters and feed on vegetation and mollusks.

“Migratory birds also need places along the water to rest on, like mudflats, sandy isles and shallow waters, where waders can feed,” he said, adding that the number of migratory birds and diversity of species peaked in those years when the lake was silted and had a number of shallow marshes that birds really prefer.

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