Kendrapara: Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district witnessing flocking of exotic migratory birds from far off countries as winter setting in.
The divisonal forest officer(DFO), Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Division) Bikash Ranjan Das said over 15,000 birds have already arrived by now. They have been seen at and Satabhaya waterbodies and the creeks in the mangrove forest in an area stretching for about a kilometre. Among them are birds from central Asia, he said.
The DFO said , “Prominent among the winged visitors to Bhitarkanika this year are endangered species like Indian Skimmers, Grey Pelicans and White-backed Vultures, Lesser Adjutant and Greater Spotted Eagles”.
“Other birds that have been sighted include Black-tailed Godwit, Northern Pin Tail, Lesser Whistling Duck, Grey Plover, Egret Spotted Bills, Oriental Darter, White Belley Seagull and Black-necked Stork,” he added.
The DFO said with mercury going down, birds in thousands arrive in their bid to escape the freezing cold in their home land in Asia region.
Das said the migratory birds have made Chilka, the largest brackish water lake in Asia, and the Bhitarkanika wetlands as their winter home.
