68K winged visitors arrive at Pong lake

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, December 19

As many as 68,188 migratory birds have thronged the Pong Wetland, lying on the foothills of Kangra district, in a fortnight.

The wildlife wing of the state Forest Department completed its fortnight counting on Saturday evening and estimated the arrival of 88 different species. The department also deployed 15 wildlife teams for the estimation count.

As per the official information, the annual count will be held on January 31.

According to Rahul Rahane, Divisional Forest Officer, Wildlife, Hamirpur, the main 20 species of migratory birds which arrived till November 15 at the Pong Wetland are bar-headed goose (27,139), common coot (12,867), northern pintail (5,291), little cormorant (3,339), common teal (4,445), common pochard (4,229), ruddy shelduck (1,654), gadwall (1,118), spot-billed duck (948), northern shoveler (423), common moorthen (420), tern (341), eurasian wigeon (594), black-winged stilt (209), brown-headed gull (185), river lapwing (269), little grebe (253), great cormorant (268), purple moorthen (370) and barn swallow (425).

The Divisional Forest Officer said the department had also deployed 12 teams to conduct daily surveillance of the whole wetland area to check poaching of migratory birds.