Bird-watchers count 16 new species in Kaiga

Avian diversity

There’s some good news on the green front in the surroundings of the Kaiga nuclear power plant.

A total of 16 new bird species were identified during the Kaiga bird marathon organised on Sunday.

This took the number of species found in the area in the last five years to 245. The number of bird species identified till the marathon last year was 229.

Alpine Swift, Malabar Trogon, White-bellied Woodpecker, Booted Wobbler, Common Blackbird, Oriental Turtle Dove, Indian Pitta, Brown Hawk Eagle, White-spotted Fantail, Indian Blackbird, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Common Wood Stork, Greater Painted Stripe, Paddyfield Warbler, White-browed Fantail and Oriental White Eye are the new species found here.

Hornbills are among the birds frequently found here and bird watchers counted their numbers too, besides those of animal species like Red Squirrel, which is on the verge of extinction.

The annual bird census is being organised here since 2011 as part of the environment concern programme of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). As many as 110 ornithologists bird lovers from the State and outside participated in this year’s avian census.

Among those who took part were enthusiasts from the Bombay Natural History Society, North Karnataka Birders Network, Forest College, Sirsi and officials of NPCIL. The avian count was conducted by eight teams of bird watchers. The teams also consisted of experts in identifying bird voices and specialist photographers.

The enthusiasts counted the birds found in the lakes, rivers, agriculture fields and on trees in places like Kuchegara, Kodara, Kodasalli and Mallapura and took pictures of the exotic species. The census was undertaken between 5 am and 12 noon and between 2 pm and 4 pm.

Discussions were held regarding the birds including about their body structure, colour and what they prey on.