The Hindu : New Delhi News : Bird lovers heave a sigh of relief

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 31, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Bird lovers heave a sigh of relief

By Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI, JAN. 30. It is not without reason that bird lover and biologist across the Capital are heaving a collective sigh of relief. After reports of nose diving numbers of migratory bird arriving in the city and nearby wetlands, the Yamuna banks seems to have practically saved the day.

When last recorded, the Yamuna had a rather busy population of 7,000 to 8,000 migratory ducks and an equal number of roosting gulls -- a clear sign that global warning and fast receding wet-lands weren't upsetting the birds en route their winter home in India.

And the reason why the Yamuna banks seem to be supporting a healthy population of migratory birds this season, is the newly discovered KG wetland near Palwal on the Agra highway which registered its first visit on December 26 where a white stork was spotted feeding along with a few openbills and woolly-neck storks. More of them were spotted later at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary earlier this month.

"This clearly shows that there are two white stork within 80 km of each other -- this is interesting and is a very special recording as the last bird in Delhi itself was a wild bird that joined the pinioned birds in Delhi zoo in 1968 (reported by Peter Jackson). Subsequently the only record for the Delhi region was of two birds at Sultanpur in 1982," explained Nikhil Devasar, of the Delhi Bird Club which carries out birds counts, conservation drives and ringing bird walks. The group is also joining hands with the Bombay Natural History Society to do a survey of the sociable plover, a bird whose numbers in the world are down to 200 breeding pairs.

"The Delhi Zoological Park is among the select areas where these birds visit each year and records are maintained and their health and breeding status checked. We had some apprehension when the numbers coming had fallen late last year, but the graph has moved up steadily and we are happy with results now. We now have recorded almost the same number of birds as last year. And while the hatching season is in full bloom, the birds are showing signs of early departure," explained Delhi Zoo vet, Paneer Selvam.

A good number of birds have also been sighted at their usual abode in various part of the city including Okhla bird sanctuary, Asola and Mayur Vihar (Sanjay Lake), setting at rest worries about the birds giving their vacation a miss.

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