69 bird species identified at Nanda Devi Himalayan reserve

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 9

As many as 69 bird species were identified during 12 guided bird walks at the recently concluded training programme for nature guides organised by eco-tourism wing of the state Forest Department at the newly established Naina Devi Himalayan Bird Conservation Reserve (NDHBCR) as part of its efforts to promote bird tourism in Uttarakhand.

The rare species observed during the programme included the longtailed broadbill, blackfaced warbler, long-billed thrush, dark-throated thrush, white-browed shrike babbler, scaly thrush and mountain bulbul.

As many as 11 species of thrushes and 6 species of woodpeckers were seen, which indicates the health of the oak-dominated forests at this altitude as both these bird groups are indicative of good forest condition.

There are attractive pheasant species too — Cheer, Koklas and Kaleej — which draw many international tourists to Pangot. Koklas and kaleej pheasants were sighted during the course. The camp was also showcased role of human settlements, including tourist resorts, agricultural fields and village houses in protecting bird diversity as many species were seen in these areas.

The focus of the training course was on developing nature guiding and bird identification skills among local youth who are working as guides or are engaged in other tourism activities. Participants came from Pangot, Bagad, Ghuggukhan, Saur, Mehroda, Sigdi, Bajedi, Vinayak and Baasi villages and places in and around Nainital, Sattal, Mukteshwar, Chotti Haldwani and Haldwani.

Nineteen participants were already associated with adventure tourism. In addition, there were 11 local students, 5 villagers and two forest guards. Dr Kapil Joshi, Chief Conservator of Forests, awarded certificates to the 37 participants at the conclusion of the course.

According to Rajiv Bhartari, Chief Conservator of Forests, Eco-tourism Nainital, has been identified as one of the four hubs in Uttarakhand for promotion of bird-based tourism, the other three being Mussoorie, Dehradun and Pawalgarh. A similar course was organised at Pawalgarh Conservation Reserve in April and another one is shortly planned at Devalasari and Asan by Titli Trust and the state Forest Department respectively.

Dr Shahbuddin said NDBCR was an extremely biodiverse region of Uttarakhand, where there is considerable potential for developing bird-based tourism as part of the basket of rural livelihood activities.

The Naina Devi Bird Conservation Reserve forests are invaluable in conserving Himalayan biodiversity.