NASHIK: In the Ramsar Nandur Madhyameshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, the sixth Monthly Bird Census for the month of February 2021 was held recently. The bird count has seen a sharp decline in the number of birds for the last two years. The census was conducted in the background of Covid-19, observing social distancing and wearing masks.
In this census, various water birds and birds on trees were recorded in a total of seven places like Chapadgaon, Manjargaon, Khangavathadi, Madhameshwar Godavari river basin, Kothur, Kurudgaon and Kathargaon. A total of 17363 birds were counted at the Sanctuary, in which 15679 waterfowl birds of 62 species and a total of 1693 tree and grasslands birds have been recorded.
In this census, marsh harrier, open-billed heron, warkari, purple heron, rakhi heron, spot bill duck, garhbal, spoon, lotus bird, pakoli bird and other bird species were spotted. Bird census was conducted under the guidance of ACF Bharat Shinde, Forest Range Officer Prathamesh Hadpe, Pandurang Pakhale, Forest Ranger Asha Wankhed, Pakshimitra Dattakaka Ugavkar, Dr Daley, Gangadhar Aghav, Sunil Jadhav, Pramod Mogul, Eknath Salve and others.
A decline in the number of birds
The Nandur Madhyameshwar Bird Sanctuary in 2018 registered around 41,000 on an average in bird census. The number declined in the year 2019 and it went down to around 30,500. This year to the decline in the number of birds has continued and only 20,000 birds were spotted on an average.
No Flamingo, storks
The Nandur Madhyameshwar Bird Sanctuary, which is the only Ramsar site in Maharashtra has seen a decline in the number of birds. This year late rains and unseasonal rains have maintained the water level which affected bird migration this year. This year there was also no proper winter and favourable conditions for migration. Not a flamingo was spotted this year and other big birds and storks also showed their bac
