Okhla bird sanctuary gets ready to greet its winged winter visitors

With the monsoon gradually withdrawing from the region, teams have started clearing the water hyacinth from ponds, trimming the overgrown foliage and setting up platforms in the water for birds to nest

The forest department has started the regular maintenance work at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary in Noida ahead of the arrival of the winter migratory birds, who start coming in by October.

One of the most important habitat development activities is the annual cleaning of the Yamuna river area and removing the water hyacinth that is unsafe for several bird species. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

With the monsoon gradually withdrawing from the region, teams have started clearing the water hyacinth from ponds, trimming the overgrown foliage and setting up platforms in the water for birds to nest.

One of the most important habitat development activities is the annual cleaning of the Yamuna river area and removing the water hyacinth that is unsafe for several bird species. For the past few years, officials have been using the cleared off water hyacinth to create mounds, natural platforms and small islands in the water body for birds to rest and perch on.

Park officials said most of the migratory birds prefer to stay on these mounds and platforms in the middle of the water body since disturbances are limited. The entire habitat development process takes up to two months, the officials said.

They said a few bird species have already arriving and have been spotted at the park. These include the Pallas’s gull, black-bellied tern, whiskered tern and marsh harrier, among others, the officials said.

“The cleaning is almost done, and we are now getting the painting and repair work done. The water hyacinth is expected to be cleared off in the next 10 days while the rest of the habitat development work will be complete by mid-October. We celebrate Wildlife Week between October 1 and 7 and most of the work will be done before that,” said PK Srivastava, divisional forest officer.

To facilitate tourists, nature trails, benches, floating platforms and pathways have been cleared of foliage and undergrowth. Arrangements for hiring cycles and golf carts have also been made for tourists.

The forest department had mended the wooden bridge leading to the watch towers and also undertaken much repair work last year.

The Okhla Bird Sanctuary is spread across 400 hectares along the Yamuna banks on the border of Noida and Delhi. Forest officials claim around 20,000 birds belonging to over 70 species visit the sanctuary every year, though birders say the numbers are a trifle exaggerated. While the sanctuary is a haven for regular birders, it also attracts many tourists and cycling groups during the winter months.

Birders said most of the interventions at the Okhla park were “cosmetic” in nature and more attention needs to be paid to better quality of habitat development

“Officials must try to improve the water quality in terms of the pH value and whether there is enough dissolved oxygen that can support fish and other aquatic life. Most water birds feed on fish and they need plentiful fish in the water body,” said Jaswinder Waraich, a birder and a regular at the Okhla park.

He said the quality of floating islands should also be improved to provide more variety to the birds. Additionally, he said replacement planting should be sufficiently done to ensure that there are large trees available for birds to nest and roost.