Water bird count at Sultanpur park finds 51 species
A bird count in Sultanpur National Park, conducted by the state wildlife department on Monday, recorded 9,026 water birds of 51 different species, including five species on the IUCN Red List of threatened birds, which wildlife officials said was a very heartening find and indicated that the wetland was healthy and thriving
A bird count in Sultanpur National Park, conducted by the state wildlife department on Monday, recorded 9,026 water birds of 51 different species, including five species on the IUCN Red List of threatened birds, which wildlife officials said was a very heartening find and indicated that the wetland was healthy and thriving.
The count started at 9.30am on Monday and ended by 3.30pm. Of the 51 species spotted in Sultanpur, 21 were resident species while 30 were migratory, said officials. Last year, the department had counted 124 species and about 20,000 birds across Sultanpur, Basai, Najafgarh Jheel and Chandu wetland, officials said, adding that they are still compiling the data from the other sites.
The five species on the threatened list spotted in Sultanpur are the black-headed ibis, a resident species; the common pochard, a winter migratory species that arrive from central Asia; the painted stork, a resident species; the Oriental darter, a resident species; and the ferruginous duck, which arrive from central Asia, officials said.
MS Malik, chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Gurugram circle, said besides Sultanpur, the bird count was carried out at Basai wetland and Najafgarh Jheel on Monday, as well as at other wetlands in the state, but they are yet to compile the data from those sites.
“We have prepared data for only Sultanpur National Park and the count of birds observed at the other sites is still being recorded. We had formed teams to keep a watch at all wetlands,” he said.
Malik said some of the bird species spotted at Sultanpur park were the Eurasian coot, common teal, gadwall, northern shoveler, northern pintail, graylag goose and Eurasian wigeon, among others.
In August 2021, the Sultanpur National Park was notified as a Ramsar Site-- a wetland of international importance -- by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change. The Bhindawas wildlife sanctuary was also notified as a Ramsar Site, making these two the first such sites in Haryana.
Experts said such bird counts are welcome as they help create a database that can be used for enhancing the habitats or wetlands.
Rajesh Chahal, wildlife inspector of Gurugram, said they used three ways to count water birds. “The first was a point count -- a tally of all birds detected by sight and sound by a single observer at a fixed position during a specified period. The second was a line transect, wherein the observer will count the birds along a line , five metres to the left and five metres to the right. The third process is counting all birds on a specific tree,” he said.
Nikhil Devasar, birder and author, who was part of the counting team, said they first went to Chandu wetland to count the birds and finished in Sultanpur. “The final count should be better than last year,” he said.
TK Roy, ecologist and environmentalist, said water birds are one of the key indicators of wetland health. Wetlands provide feeding, resting, roosting and foraging habitats for these charismatic species. “The result of the census and information are also used to promote national waterbird and wetland conservation and international cooperation along the Central Asian Flyway and East Asian-Australasian Flyway,” he said.