<p>Hundreds of rare and migratory birds, the Demoiselle cranes have arrived here in large numbers, much to the delight of bird lovers. It is a never before treat as the rare migratory cranes are coming to the State after a five-year hiatus.<br /><br />The cranes, according to local birdwatchers R G Thimmapur and Guru Thimmapur from Gokak, are more than 600 in number, and are roosting in the shallow waters of the dam. “ They used to come in smaller number earlier, but had stopped visiting here since the 2003,” said R G Thimmapur. <br /><br />The small and attractive crane in the world measures between 85–100 cm length with a 155–180 cm wingspan and is smaller than the Common Crane but with similar plumage. <br />The bird, with long white neck stripe and the black on the foreneck extends down over the chest in a plume and is the only one among the cranes which migrates down South to roost in the dry land. <br /><br />Gopi Sunder, Research Associate with International Crane Foundation, who has studied the birds in Gujarat and Rajasthan, says the migratory birds from Russia and Mongolia fly right above the Himalaya to an altitude of 16,000-26,000 feet (4,875-7,925 m). “Many of the predators like Golden Eagles on the cliffs of Himalayas wait to feed on these birds, thus making them ecologically significant,” he said. <br /><br />Sunder, who had ringed these birds earlier, says they are among the few dry area cranes. The best sighting of the birds is at Khichan, a village near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, where villagers feed the cranes. <br /><br />Thimmapur says that the although a good number of cranes used to arrive in the early 1970s, their number started declining in the 90’s and they stopped coming from 2003.”Last year we sighted just 40 of them, but this year it was an amazing spectacle,” said Guru his son.<br /><br />However, the rampant poaching here has been a matter of concern here. “These birds go to the nearby fields in search of oilseeds for food and end up being poached. The area being vast, it is difficult to monitor,” says Thimmapur. <br /><br />Bar-headed geese<br /><br />To establish yet another Mongolian connection, two bar-headed geese tagged by well- known wildlife veterinarian Martin Gilbert have also made it to Karnataka.<br /><br />They were tagged in Mongolia to study the generally believed theory of spread of avian influenza. Two birds were sighted in Kaggalipura lake near Mysore.</p>
<p>Hundreds of rare and migratory birds, the Demoiselle cranes have arrived here in large numbers, much to the delight of bird lovers. It is a never before treat as the rare migratory cranes are coming to the State after a five-year hiatus.<br /><br />The cranes, according to local birdwatchers R G Thimmapur and Guru Thimmapur from Gokak, are more than 600 in number, and are roosting in the shallow waters of the dam. “ They used to come in smaller number earlier, but had stopped visiting here since the 2003,” said R G Thimmapur. <br /><br />The small and attractive crane in the world measures between 85–100 cm length with a 155–180 cm wingspan and is smaller than the Common Crane but with similar plumage. <br />The bird, with long white neck stripe and the black on the foreneck extends down over the chest in a plume and is the only one among the cranes which migrates down South to roost in the dry land. <br /><br />Gopi Sunder, Research Associate with International Crane Foundation, who has studied the birds in Gujarat and Rajasthan, says the migratory birds from Russia and Mongolia fly right above the Himalaya to an altitude of 16,000-26,000 feet (4,875-7,925 m). “Many of the predators like Golden Eagles on the cliffs of Himalayas wait to feed on these birds, thus making them ecologically significant,” he said. <br /><br />Sunder, who had ringed these birds earlier, says they are among the few dry area cranes. The best sighting of the birds is at Khichan, a village near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, where villagers feed the cranes. <br /><br />Thimmapur says that the although a good number of cranes used to arrive in the early 1970s, their number started declining in the 90’s and they stopped coming from 2003.”Last year we sighted just 40 of them, but this year it was an amazing spectacle,” said Guru his son.<br /><br />However, the rampant poaching here has been a matter of concern here. “These birds go to the nearby fields in search of oilseeds for food and end up being poached. The area being vast, it is difficult to monitor,” says Thimmapur. <br /><br />Bar-headed geese<br /><br />To establish yet another Mongolian connection, two bar-headed geese tagged by well- known wildlife veterinarian Martin Gilbert have also made it to Karnataka.<br /><br />They were tagged in Mongolia to study the generally believed theory of spread of avian influenza. Two birds were sighted in Kaggalipura lake near Mysore.</p>
