Good number of resident waterbirds spotted in TN during census

Bird watchers have spotted a goodnumber of resident waterbirds in Tamil Nadu during the justconcluded Asian Waterbird Census (AWC).

Rare species were sighted in certain districts.

A good number of species were sighted in and aroundthe city and Salem during the annual exercise spread over thefirst two weekends that concluded in January, K V Sudhakar,state co-ordinator of AWC, said.

This citizen-science event is a part of the globalInternational Waterbird Census (IWC) initiative supportingconservation and management of wetlands and waterbirdsworldwide.

''We are receiving snapshots of figures of birds fromvarious districts and the process of compiling the data ison,'' Sudhakar told P T I.

Besides him, Kumaran Sadasivam also coordinates thecensus in the state.

''We had furnished a list of 150 species forverification. Some of the youngsters involved in the censusenthusiastically uploaded the photographs on the e-birdplatform which needs to be collated,'' he said.

Salem saw a record number of waterfowl.

''Many avid birdwatchers and scores of volunteersjoined the census while maintaining COVID norms,'' said SVenkatesh of Salem Ornithological Foundation.

At present the process of analysing the data is on,he said.

Indian Pond-Heron, Little Cormorant and Cattle Egrettoo were sighted at the wetlands. Among migrant waterbirds,Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Western Yellow Wagtail werespotted.

Initiated in 1987 in the Indian subcontinent, AWCcovers 26 countries of South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia,besides Russia.

''This census provides us valuable information on thestatus of wetlands and measures required to conserve them,''Sudhakar said.

Such an activity led to heightened awareness andhelped to conserve the Pallikaranai marshlands in Chennaiwhere a portion of the land was converted into a dumpyard, heclaimed and said that effective conservation would help toincrease the number of birds over a period of time.

The census also facilitates the assessment of waterlevels in the wetlands.

This apart, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), aglobal initiative which would see the participation ofthousands of birdwatchers, will be held from February 12-15.PTI PTI JSP SA SSPTI PTI