SANTRAGACHI (HOWRAH): With more than 6000 migratory birds straddling the waters of the SantragachiJheel already, it seems that this year the total number is likely to cross 8000 before the end of the month. A migratory bird census and a bird watching programme, that came to an end on Sunday, were organised at the jheel last week. The fulvous whistling duck, whose sighting is considered to be irregular, made an appearance this year bringing more and more bird enthusiasts to the lake.
The annual affair at the lake, which started a little over a decade back, has now become extremely popular among birdwatchers and environment activists. The census is organized every year and a species-wise classification is released to the district authorities and the state forest department at the end of the event. This year, a global optical major, Carl Zeiss, has tied up with the organisers — the local Chottodal Club and environment activists' groups PrakritiSamsad and Howrah BijnanParishad — for the event. A large number of telescopes and binoculars will be available for enthusiasts to watch the winged visitors, along with live demonstration from experts.
"The fulvous whistling duck made its appearance for the first time on the day of Christmas, sending ripples of excitement among enthusiasts who had gathered at the jheel on that day," said KushalMookherjee of PrakritiSamsad. This species breeds in tropical regions of Mexico and South America, the West Indies and sub-Saharan Africa and is rarely spotted anywhere in India. Though the sighting started with just a pair, the number grew in the past one week. After word of mouth publicity, several enthusiasts thronged the jheel to get a glimpse of the bird and take its pictures. Among other rare birds that have been spotted are the northern pintail (Europe and North America), gadwal (Europe, Eurasia and North America) and ferruginous pochard (Eurasia). This apart, regular visitors such as the lesser whistling duck (south east Asia), common teal (Eurasia), Baikal teal (Russia) and cotton pygmy goose (south east asia) have also been sighted.
"This year is special both in terms of the number and variety of birds sighted. This has happened because of the timely clean-up of water hyacinth following directions from the green tribunal. But, the floating islands created on the water for the birds to perch on are fewer in number and are not strong enough to take the weight of hundreds of birds who settle on them to take rest. Hence, these are gradually sinking. We are not sure if they will hold forth till the end of the season," rued JibanSaha, spokesperson of the club.
Many schools are organizing trips to the lake to enable children to get a glimpse of the variety of winged guests. "We had always read about the SantragachiJheel, but never knew that it was so large and so many migratory birds come here," said SimontiniGuha, a student of Beltala Girls School who had gone to the place with her classmates and teacher on an excursion on Wednesday.
Young people were seen clicking selfies with the birds in the background, some enthusiasts were seen making videos. "We hope to come back again. Though you can enjoy the beauty even with your naked eye, it's better to have telescopes and binoculars to identify the birds," said AnupTripathi, a wildlife photographer.
