Bird count drops to five-year low in Chandigarh

With only 335 waterfowl birds identified at Sukhna Lake and Dhanas Lake, low bird count was witnessed during the annual census by Chandigarh Bird Club

With only 335 waterfowl birds identified at the Sukhna Lake and the Dhanas Lake, the lowest number of birds were counted during the annual Salim Ali Bird Species Count and Waterfowl Census conducted by the Chandigarh Bird Club (CBC) on Sunday.

The survey is an annual feature conducted by them every year in memory of ‘India’s birdman’ Dr Salim Ali, who was born on November 12.

The survey is an annual feature conducted by them every year in memory of ‘India’s birdman’ Dr Salim Ali, who was born on November 12. The survey is carried out on the nearest Sunday. Six teams comprising 34 members conducted the survey at the Dhanas Lake and the Sukhna Lake, three teams went to the Ghaggar river beyond Chhatbir, Siswan Dam and Mirzapur Dam for the inter-state Chandigarh region (ISCR) that the CBC covers.

This year 335 waterfowl birds were identified at the Sukhna Lake and the Dhanas Lake, the lowest ever since the first survey was conducted in 2017. The number of waterfowl birds has fallen ever since they started and has reduced by around 53% since then when 717 birds were identified. The total species of waterfowl and other birds identified was also the lowest since 2017 with 73 such birds identified. The bird count for six places falling in adjacent areas was also conducted and a total 2,040 waterfowl birds with 99 species were sighted across the ISCR region.

Bird count drops to five-year low in Chandigarh

Speaking about why the number of birds is lesser this year, the president of the CBC, Mitenderpal Singh Sekhon said, “There are no exact reasons for why the number has gone down, but we noticed that the water level of the Sukhna Lake is comparatively high for this time of the year. A higher water level makes it difficult for the birds to feed here. Further, rowing practice was also going on here on Sunday morning which could have frightened the birds away.”

Saying that it’s too early to draw conclusions, UT chief conservator of forests Debendra Dalai said, “Winters still haven’t started in the city which is when maximum migration happens. We will wait for a few days to see if the number of migratory birds has actually gone down.” The CBC also conducts a census of the birds in February to determine how many migratory birds came to the city in the entire season.