JOIN USA year-and-a-half after its restoration, the number of migratory birds visiting the Agara lake in HSR Layout has come down, experts said.
They have attributed the drop in numbers to the lake's soup bowl design, sloping margin of the lake bund, constant rumbling of traffic and human intervention.
The bird census data for the Agara lake — released by an online bird observation database eBird — revealed that only 224 birds across 30 species have visited the waterbody this year.
Some of the birds found include the Barn Swallow, Garganey, Red-naped Ibis, Red-vented Bulbul, Painted Stork, Northern Shoveler, Zitting Cisticola and Scaly-breasted Munia.
Ornithologist M B Krishna said: "Many migratory shorebirds like Sandpipers and Turnstones have disappeared from the Agara lake as it's sloping margin is too low."
"Lake bunds with high slopes help birds and other reptiles to easily slope in to the lake for food and water. South Indian lakes have seen an immense dip in the bird count (in recent times), while the conditions in North India are quite favorable to migratory birds hailing from Central Asia, Siberia and some parts of Europe," he added.
The fact that the lake is located between two traffic-dense roads does not help the cause, according to city-based bird watcher, Ulhas Anand.
"Every lake is an ecosystem, containing clusters of different water conditions," Anand said. "Some birds require shallow lands, while others need the water hyacinth. But now, lakes have become veritable soup bowls."
The Agara Lake Protection and Management Society (ALPMS), formed by volunteers and lake experts, has restored the waterbody with support from government agencies.
"We have kept the lake's island totally intact and have planted many fruit-bearing trees there. There will be plenty of vegetation in the future for the birds to nest. We are also planning plantation drives in the lake area," said Kavitha Reddy, a member of ALPMS.