Over 91,000 migratory birds visited Khijadiya this winter

Migratory birds done by forest department in Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, about 10km from Jamnagar city, has revealed that 91,261 birds of 193 species visited the sanctuary in this season. The count was done on January 20 and January 21. During the previous count, in 2012, the bird count was around 40,000, while in last year's census only 27,400 birds of 262 species were found at Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary. However, forest officials said that the 2017 bird count was not done scientifically. Hence, the count was done this year again. According to an official release by the forest department, species like great crested grebe, black-necked stork, little grebe, rosy pelican, dalmatian pelican, large and little cormorant painted stork, flamingos, common crane, demoiselle crane, glossy eyes, etc, visited the sanctuary spread across 6 hectare between October 2017 and January 2018.

Forest officials had formed 16 teams that counted the birds till Saturday evening and resumed work again early morning on Sunday. All the participants stayed at the park for Saturday night. Every year, from October to January, thousands of birds from across the globe visit the sanctuary. The wetland eco-system of Khijadiya is a wintering ground for migratory waterfowls from Palaearctic region and serves as an important breeding ground for many species of wetland birds as well as an uncommon breeder in India, Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps Cristatus).


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