Heaters installed at aviary to keep birds warm

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 25

The UT Forests and Wildlife Department has installed five heaters inside the Chandigarh Bird Park to keep the birds warm during winter.

Over 70,000 persons have visited the park since its opening

The bird park was inaugurated by Savita Kovind, First Lady of India, on November 16. More than 70,000 people have visited the park since it was thrown open to the public on November 17. Debendra Dalai, Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, said they were getting more than 15,000 visitors every week. People not only from the city but also neighbouring states were coming in large numbers to see the exotic birds. However, the department has decided to keep the park closed every Monday and Tuesday to give rest to the birds and to carry out necessary maintenance works.

Debendra Dalai, Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, said they had placed five heaters inside the enclosures to keep the birds warm during these harsh winter conditions. To ensure the safety of the birds, the heaters have been placed at such strategic locations that the birds don’t come in direct contact of the devices, he said, adding that it was likely to increase the temperature inside the enclosures by up to 10 degrees.

He said the department was also using polythene sheets to cover the sides and top of the enclosure to keep the birds warm.

The department has established the Bird Park on 6.5 acres at Nagar Van behind the Sukhna Lake. The facility has got two small aviaries and two walk-through ones. The structure surrounds thousands of plants of varying canopies, which give an ideal habitat, food and shelter for these birds so that they can freely fly and breed.

The department has planned the enclosure in such a way that the birds, apart from having a free flight and nesting in the natural habitat, will stay at the aviary and visitors will be able to walk past them.

The park’s lush green spaces are covered by terrestrial plants, ferns, shrubs, bushes, aquatic plants, trees and creepers to provide every bird with an environment that is perfectly suited to its unique needs. Herbs, shrubs and trees have been planted to suit the birds’ natural habitat.

Dalai said ample space for each and every bird had been provided to the birds in the park, which has 58-foot flying height and nearly 200x150 feet of ground area each for terrestrial birds and aquatic birds.

The park has African love birds, budgerigars, white swan, black swan, wood duck, golden pheasant, yellow golden pheasant, green wing macaw, African grey parrot, finches and melanistic pheasant.

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