Maha: Large colony of painted storks found in Latur

A huge colony of over 400 painted storks, an endangered bird species, has for the first time been found in Maharashtras Latur district, an official from the Bombay Natural History Society BNHS said.Local bird lover Dhananjay Gutte, while travelling in the catchment area of a lake in Masalga village under Nilanga tehsil, recently heard loud chirpings in the area.He got curious and followed the direction from which the bird chirpings were heard.To his delight, he spotted a huge colony of the painted storks on trees nearby and subsequently informed about it to authorities.

A huge colony of over 400 painted storks, an endangered bird species, has for the first time been found in Maharashtra's Latur district, an official from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) said.

Local bird lover Dhananjay Gutte, while traveling in the catchment area of a lake in Masalga village under Nilanga tehsil, recently heard loud chirpings in the area.

He got curious and followed the direction from which the bird chirpings were heard.

To his delight, he spotted a huge colony of the painted storks on trees nearby and subsequently informed about it to authorities. The heronry of painted storks is known as 'Sarangagar' in local parlance.

On Thursday, BNHS joint director Raju Kasambe, and some local forest officials along with Gutte visited the site.

They found 440 big and small painted storks and their 230 nests in the area, Gutte told PTI.

Kasam said considering the number of nests found, they estimate that there would be more painted storks in the area than the number of birds spotted so far.

''This is the first time such a big colony of painted storks has been spotted in the Latur district. In Maharashtra, there are three such bird colonies, including one in Pandharpur (in Solapur district). The bird colony found in Latur is one of the biggest,'' he told PTI.

The painted storks, which are included in the list of endangered species, generally choose habitats where water, food, and breeding spaces are suitably available. Their breeding season is from February to June. These birds feed on fish, frogs, snails, and other small aquatic animals. Their waste has a high content of nitrogen and phosphorus which can be used as crop fertilizer, Gutte said.

Local farmer Gudappa Dhenkare said they have been seeing the painted storks in the area for five years now, but the huge colony of the birds was found only recently. ''These birds don't harm us or our crops. A few days ago, someone offered me Rs 80,000 for the wood of acacia trees on which these birds live. I have decided not to cut those trees,'' he said.

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