29th census of birds completed at Vadhavana Bird Sanctuary

Statistics will be released tomorrow, last year estimated 76,000 birds of 179 species were counted

The 29th bird count at Vadhavana Lake, which is known for the arrival of exotic migratory birds in Gujarat completed on Friday. Forest Department personnel and officers, retired officers along with about 130 volunteers from the voluntary organization participated in the bird count conducted in two sessions in the morning and evening.

The bird count figures will be released by the Wildlife Department, Vadodara tomorrow.

Migratory birds from all over the country, including Europe, make Vadhavana lake their home in January-February. Giving a comprehensive overview of the lake
Deputy Forest Conservator B. R. Vaghela says, in the year 1908, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad built the Vadhavana lake for drinking water and irrigation.

The embankment of this lake is 13 km long and is spread over an area of ​​950 acres. Recently, the lake has been linked with Narmada Canal to keep it permanently filled with water.

The environment plays an important role in the migration of migratory birds. Indian winters are much warmer compared to European countries. That is why migratory birds from special European countries, Kazakhstan, come here to spend the winter and the climate here is very conducive to migratory birds.

The arrival time of migratory birds is scheduled and they never misses it. But sometimes there is uncertainty in their arrival in circumstances like climate change, noise pollution, war conditions etc. As the information collected in the human census is useful in the socio-economic development of the people, in the same way bird census helps in understanding the conservation and nature of birds.

RFO of Jambughoda and Assistant Forest Conservator in charge of Vadodara H.D. Raulji says, the Vadhavana lake, spread over 950 acres, was divided into 13 zones for bird census. The boundaries of these 13 zones have been flagged in the lake to get as many bird counts as possible.

The 29th bird count was conducted with the help of Forest Department staff, retired officers as well as 130 volunteers from voluntary organizations, scientists and volunteers associated with the Bombay Natural History Society. Officers-volunteers were divided into 14 teams and they done counting of birds with the help of equipment such as binoculars and their own intuition and observation.