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First Pong Bird Festival from February 1-2
The event will feature activities such as bird ringing, bird race, bird talk, guided bird watching tour, boating besides a cycle rally, a Kangra painting exhibition, a local cuisine fair and a handicraft exhibition
The wildlife wing of the Himachal Pradesh forest department will organise the first Pong Bird Festival at Nagrota Suriyan in the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary on February 1 and 2.
The event will feature activities such as bird ringing, bird race, bird talk, guided bird watching tour, boating besides a cycle rally, a Kangra painting exhibition, a local cuisine fair and a handicraft exhibition.
Assistant conservator of forest (wildlife), Pong Dam, Ajay Kumar said that in the bird race competition, birders will be given the challenge to count and register the maximum number of varieties of migratory birds roosting in the Pong wetland.
Whosoever registers the maximum number and varieties of migratory birds will be given token awards. Experts will also ring the birds to study their migration route and behaviour pattern.
Kumar said that the annual bird census in the Pong Wetland Area will be held on January 29 and 30. Besides counting the exact number of birds in the wetland, efforts will be made to identify rare species visiting the wetland.
Nearly 140 birders from across the country and various organizations will participate in the mega exercise.
1.1 LAKH BIRDS IN WETLAND
More than 1.1 lakh migratory birds belonging to around 100 species are roosting at the wetland. The maximum number is that of Bar-Headed Geese, the world’s highest flying migratory bird. Among other species that have descended in large numbers are the Eurasian Coot, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal , Little Cormorant, Common Pochard (1,445), and Gadwall (1,245)
The Pong Dam Lake, constructed on the Beas in 1960, was declared a bird sanctuary in 1983 and given the status of the wetland of national importance in 1994. In 2002, it got the status of Ramsar site.
The reservoir, covering 24,529 hectares with 15,662 hectares area of wetland, is among the top 10 sites in attracting migratory birds. Last year, a total of 1.15 lakh birds arrived.
