As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday 14 January 2018

Birds double at Okhla reserve, reveals Asian Waterbird Census


Of the 63 species spotted during the census, 27 were of resident water birds and 36 of winter migratory water birds such as the northern lapwing and the common shelduck.

Written by Aniruddha Ghosal | New Delhi | Published: January 7, 2018 1:11 am

An almost twofold increase in the number of birds spotted, nine threatened species managing to thrive, and two rare ones finding home at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary marked the first day of the Asian Waterbird Census, which began in the capital Saturday.

T K Roy, ecologist and AWC state coordinator, said the census is carried out at important wetlands across the country to help identify and protect new sites for birds.

“There has been an increase in water bird species diversity. A total of 11,622 birds were spotted across 63 species. This is in comparison to 53 species and 6,183 total birds in 2017. In 2016, this was even less — 46 species and 3,113 birds,” he said.

The 2018 census for Delhi region will be carried out at six important wetlands — Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Surajpur Wetland, Najafgarh Drain & Jheel, River Yamuna, Sanjay Lake and the National Zoological Park. “The Okhla Bird Sanctuary is a unique urban wetland, where water birds are found in the heart of Delhi-NCR. The 2018 census is being carried out by the Wetlands International South Asia in collaboration with the Gautam Budh Nagar Forest department and volunteers from different universities,” he said.


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