3-day Sundarbans bird survey records 168 species

Kolkata: Birders, conservationists and foresters have managed to sight close to 31,000 birds during the three-day trail under the fourth bird festival in the Indian Sundarbans that ended on Tuesday.Number of species sighted — 168 — is higher than last year's 154. Total number of sightings stood at 30986, lower than 31,926 recorded during the festival last year. Six teams with 24 participants covered 4,000 square kilometres under both the tiger reserve and South 24 Parganas divisions on Jan 24, 25 and 26. The summary report was readied and released on Tuesday by forest minister Birbaha Hansda.Some of the key species sighted include the Himalayan griffon vulture, black- and brown-headed gull and Eurasian curlew. Number of mudflat bird species sighted this year is 45. According to Zoological Survey of India scientist Amitava Majumder, a resource person, "The inputs and suggestions that we had given during the first three editions of the festival have been well-implemented by the dept. This reflected on management of overall habitat. Not a single plastic was spotted in the zones during our survey."Of the total 168 species sighted, 57 are migratory and 111 are resident. Of them, 14 are threatened species. The maximum number of species — 105 — were sighted in Basirhat range, followed by 85 in Kalas, 76 in Matla, 75 in National Park west, 71 in Sajnekhali and 70 in National Park east.Twenty-four participants from all over the country and world were divided into six teams as they traversed six bird transects aided by the resource persons and forest staff. The minister also distributed share of Rs 1.7 crore to 26 joint forest management committees (JFMC) of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. The funds will be used for development activities such as roads, drinking water, community halls in the JFMC areas.