A large number of migratory birds have arrived in the Jagatsinghpur district's Paradeep city here.
According to the forest department, 21,602 foreign birds were counted till Friday which is 15,000 more than the previous year.
Eight teams from the Rajnagar forest department have been deployed while two teams of four have arrived at Paradeep Phosphates Limited (PPL) to count the birds. The team continued its work in the early hours of the morning.
Speaking to , Suchitra Sahoo, from an orgsation working for wildlife and nature in the state, said that birds can be seen in a large number because of the cold weather and pollution-free environment.
"However, the highest number of exotic birds was found in the PPL fertilizer plant premises. The birds were found in large numbers in small ponds around the factory."
She also listed out the names of the birds found here -- Eurasian wigeon, Cotton teal, Ruddy shelduck, Northern pintail, Gadwall, Pheasant-tailed jacana, Lesser adjutant stork, Painted stork, Garganey, Pacific golden plover, Bar-headed goose, Common shelduck, Little grebe, Tufted duck and many rare species.
Due to the coronavirus-induced lockdowns in 2020, many production and manufacturing units were shut down which had a "significant impact" on the environment, Sahoo said.
Paradeep Phosphates Limited, a fertiliser company here, said that it would make every effort to keep the environment clean and tidy in the future, said the manager Sudhir Ranjan Mishra.
"They come from all over the world and from outside of the state and also they are coming regularly to us. So now they have made a habitation for themselves. Now they come for their food, for their mating, laying eggs and all that so it's a ritual now to maintain this area, keeping them good for these birds," he told .
Talking about the increasing number of birds and variety he said that last year 70,000 birds of 70 types of species were found here.
"They come every year, their numbers are increasing every year, and the species number is also increasing. Last year if you remember its 70,000 and 70 types of species. This time also due to lockdown and shutdown the environment is so clean, it has pushed these birds to come from all over. Now really hopeful that this year also the number will increase. Also, some good and rare species can also be found over here which are there in nature," added Mishra.
With the arrival of the winter season and the onset of the months of November to January, birds from Siberia, Russia, and other cold regions migrate to South Asia in search of food.
( With inputs from ANI )
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