Birds from Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan; 32,745 waterbirds of 79 species recorded at Jayakwadi

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The Asian Waterbird Census 2026 at the Jayakwadi Bird Sanctuary was successfully conducted on Sunday under the guidance of deputy conservator of forests Revati Kulkarni. The census recorded as many as 32,745 waterbirds belonging to 79 species, including migratory birds from Russia, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.

For the census, 41 locations spread across 33,745 hectares were selected. At six locations, teams entered the reservoir by boats and carried out direct observations to ensure accurate counting.

Experienced birdwatchers, forest officers and forest staff from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Ahilyanagar districts actively participated in the exercise. A large number of migratory waterbirds were sighted during the census. In addition, around 30 species of terrestrial birds were also recorded in the reservoir area during the exercise.

Those involved in the census included assistant conservator of forests (Paithan) Pramila More, range forest officer Rahul Sapkal, honorary wildlife warden Dr Kishor Pathak, Dr Manish Malani, Dr Sudhakar Gaikwad, Dr Prashant Palavde, Prof Santosh Gavhane, Arjun Kuche, Pratik Joshi, Dilip Bhagat, Sunil Pydhan, Krishna Chavan, A.B. Chavan, Kiran Gadekar, Babasaheb Ghate, Krishna Gadekar, Nitin Sonawane, Raju Pawar, Mahadev Kalyane, Kunal Vibhandeek, Dr Deepak Jaybhaye, Shakale, Shantilal Parsaiya, Shravan Parsaiya, Suresh Pare, Laxman Birute, along with wildlife department staff Rupali Solse, Bhausaheb Bhosale, Surayya Sheikh, Narayan Darade, Mehmood Sheikh, Vaishali Shinde, Rameshwar Bodkhe and Rajshri Daphde.

Bird species recorded during the census:

Little grebe, great and little cormorant, Indian shag, grey and purple heron, Indian pond heron, great/medium/little/cattle egret, painted stork, Asian openbill, bar-headed goose, ruddy shelduck, northern pintail, spot-billed duck, common pochard, garganey, common shoveler, purple swamphen, common moorhen, common coot, black-winged stilt, red-wattled lapwing, little ringed plover, river tern, whiskered tern, wire-tailed swallow, various species of kingfishers, black-naped ibis, glossy ibis, rosy starling, osprey and several other waterbirds were found in large numbers.

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