Over 12,000 birds flock to Pong Dam lake

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 1

A favourite haunt of the migratory birds from Central Asia and Siberia during winters, the Pong Dam wildlife sanctuary these days is home to summer breeding birds from Central India.

Officials of the Wildlife wing of the Forest Department have recorded 12,314 birds at Pong Dam lake besides 90 species of butterflies and 18 species of snakes. The bird count was undertaken by the Wildlife wing on June 23 last month. The sanctuary was first divided into 15 segments with around 40 persons participating in the exercise.

Summer migrant birds such yellow wattled lapwing, small pratincole, lesser whistling duck, Indian skimmer, black crowned night heron and blue-tailed bee eater can be spotted in large numbers at the Pong water body, besides local species.

The count has revealed that 423 species of birds, 18 species of snakes, 90 species of butterflies, 24 species of mammals, 27 species of fish were spotted at the Pong Dam. As compared to a total of 1.35 lakh birds count recorded during the winter survey of the birds, the number comes down considerably during the summer as only summer breeding birds camp here during May-June.

“Each section was thoroughly traversed by different teams, both on land and along shores, with a team comprising 2-4 members with a monitor. On the completion of the day-long exercise, the count was 12,314 wetland birds of different species,” said Tarun Sridhar, Additional Chief Secretary (Forest and Revenue).

Dominant species observed and counted were the cattle egret (3,348), little cormorant (2,003), small pratincole (1,377), little egret (1,305), red wattled lapwing (1,024). Other important species found breeding in the area and recorded in the lake were the little tern (194), purple heron (173), yellow wattled lapwing (55), gull billed tern (46) and the great thick knee (43).

Over the last few years, the Pong Dam lake, also a Ramsar site, has become an ideal destination for summer sojourn for many species of birds. Their arrival here in large numbers can be attributable to the varied habitat, easy availability of food and extended protection by the staff of the Wildlife Wing which has involved the local communities in this enterprise.

The dominant species that come here during winters include bar-headed goose, northern pintail, common coots, common teals , common pochards, little cormorants, tufted ducks ruddy shelduck and great cormorants.