Over 11.37 lakh Birds Counted in Chilika Lake, Pallas Fish Eagle Sighted After 10 Yrs

Bhubaneswar: The bird census in and around Chilika Lake for 2023-24 has revealed the presence of 11,37,759 avian guests of at least 187 different species at the Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon.  A large number of them were migratory birds. The bird enumeration in Chilika Lake concluded on Thursday.

According to the Forest Department, the Pallas Fish Eagle, a rare species of bird, was spotted in the lake during the census after a long gap of 10 years.

This major bird census was conducted at Balugaon, Chilika, Tangi, Satapada, and Rambha forest ranges in Khurda, Puri, and Ganjam districts. Nalabana bird sanctuary area had the highest number of migratory birds. A total of as many as 3,47,280 birds were found at Nalabana of Balugaon range.

Twenty-one teams were involved in this bird census. Out of them, 19 were involved in bird documentation for the water surfaces and two teams documented the birds perching on land. These teams comprised of forest officials, ornithologists, bird enthusiasts, and researchers.

The majority of birds were Northern Pintail (2,18,650), followed by Gadwall (1,56,636) and Eurasian Wigeon (1,40,322).