KOZHIKODE: The annual bird survey carried out at Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) has recorded the presence of 175 species, reaffirming its status as a critical habitat for endemic and endangered birds.
The survey carried out under the aegis of the state forest department could spot rare birds like Legge's Hawk Eagle - the only hawk eagle endemic to Western Ghats. The bird was sighted for the first time in the sanctuary at Muthumalakalli on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.
Ornithologist C K Vishnudas who coordinated the survey, said the globally threatened white-rumped vultures and red-headed vultures were sighted in all camps with the single most count of 20 birds found at Doddakulasi.
Significantly, as many as 14 species of raptors which belong to Schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act were also sighted in the survey held from April 10-13. Nesting of forest eagle owl and Asian brown flycatcher were recorded for the first time in the sanctuary from Muthanga range in the survey.
As many as 60 birdwatchers from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu participated in the survey. The volunteers stayed in 14 anti-poaching camps inside the sanctuary and conducted systematic transects in the sanctuary for three days.
As many as 10 species of woodpeckers, eight species of doves and pigeons, three species of kingfishers and seven species of babblers were recorded.
Fourteen species of waterbirds were spotted including Indian cormorant, which was sighted for the first time in the sanctuary at Punchavayal in Tholpetty forest range.
Vishnudas said there had been a marked increase in the count of waterbirds in WWS following the availability of many wetlands following successful rewilding after relocation of several human settlements inside the sanctuary.
He, however, said there was a decrease in the number of migratory birds this year, which could be due to the recent heavy summer rains.
The survey teams also experienced four tiger sightings inside the sanctuary.
DFO P Dhanesh Kumar, who holds the charge of WWS wildlife warden, said bird population and diversity could provide real-time indications about the robustness of an ecosystem, including challenges like habitat degradation and effects of climate change. "The bird diversity at WWS shows that the sanctuary still provides a healthy habitat for many endemic and endangered bird species," he said.
Pramod G Krishnan, chief conservator of forests (wildlife), northern region, attended the function held to mark the conclusion of the annual survey.
