The number of migratory birds flocking the Pong Dam lake near here has significantly come down by 9,000 birds this year, a latest census has found.

The number of winged visitors this year stood at 1,23,000 against last year’s 1,32,000 birds, a Himachal Pradesh Government official said. The number of species visiting the lake, however, went up from last year’s 95 to stand at 113.

“The census found that birds belonging to the species such as bar-headed goose, Northern pintail, common Pochard and little Corromrant arrived to the lake this winter,” Chief Conservator of Forests Sanjeeva Pandey said, adding a pair of whooper swan was seen in the Pong Dam lake after a gap of 113 years.The last time the bird was spotted in the country was in the year 1900, when it was seen near Talwara in Punjab.

She said ornithologists from institutions such as Bombay Natural History Society, Wildlife Institute of India and Zoological Survey of India, besides 150 bird watchers took part in the two-day exercise on January 31 and February 1.

comment COMMENT NOW