Second Annual Waterbird census 2021 completed in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

GUWAHATI: The number of waterbird species in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is 58 this year against 64 last year. On the contrary, the head count of birds this year is 24,000 against just 15,000 last year.

The State Forest department and Aaranyak, an NGO, have successfully conducted the second "Annual Waterbird census 2021" in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.

The main objective of the census was to count waterbird species in order to generate data on birds and monitoring of these species for long-term conservation. In 2020, 64 waterbird species with more than 15,000 individual birds were recorded. This year, a total of 58 waterbird species with more than 24,000 individual birds were recorded.

The census was successfully conducted with active involvement of about 30 participants comprising staff from the Forest department; members & staff of Aaranyak; students and faculty members of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Guwahati; representatives from other conservation organizations; local volunteers and birders. Udayan Borthakur, a senior scientist with Aaranyak coordinated the census and briefed the participants on field procedures.

Mukul Tamuli, Range Officer, Pobitora WLS coordinated various aspects of the census procedure. Borthakur; Dr. Bibhuti P. Lahkar, senior scientist, Aaranyak; Dr. Namita Brahma, Faculty, TISS; Naba Choudhury of Bonoriya; Binod Deka and Mr. Nripen Nath of Maibong Eco Resort led six different teams that conducted the census.

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