Srirangapatna:  The Forest Department, in association with Mysore Bird Watchers’ Group, for the first time conducted a Bird Census at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Srirangapatna this morning. About 75 volunteers and avid bird watchers took part in this census.

The census was originally scheduled on Mar. 4, but was postponed to Mar. 11 following the death of  S. Manikandan, Director of Nagarahole National Park, who was trampled by an elephant on Mar. 3.

The volunteers were split into 14 teams and were assigned certain islands in different boats. The bird watchers and volunteers were selected and divided at a workshop on ‘Scientific Bird Counting’  conducted yesterday at Aranya Bhavan in Mysuru. Several ornithologists were also a part of the team.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, V. Yedukondalu, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) Wildlife Division, Mysuru said, “We started the census at 6 am and finished the rounds by 10 am.  We selected the batches and members for the census yesterday during the workshop based on their interests and photography skills. We counted the birds, their habitat and nests. This is for the first time that we are doing such a census and we will continue to have more such surveys in the near future. Their habitat preference is also recorded as we can improve their habitat and understand their preferences. We are doing this for the management of park based on scientific lines. The data will be compiled for Ramsar Site (wetlands of international importance) tag.”

Three different methods: Three methods such as Total Count Method, Nest Count Method and Photographic Method were adopted during the census. The average of these three counts will be taken for analysis. The bird watchers and volunteers have created a WhatsApp group and will network together and work on solving the ecological issues.

Citing the importance of this census, Yedukondalu said, “Through the data we get, we will be able to understand the bird patterns better. We can know their migratory patterns, nesting patterns and can build a suitable habitat for them. Thus this study will be used as a baseline to understand the birds and its trends. Until now, only boatmen and local staff used to analyse the type of birds. But now we need a scientific compilation and thus we will be conducting four surveys every year.

Sheshagiri, a senior bird watcher from Mysuru said, “About 27 islands have been covered and we have recorded the birds, their habitat, nesting pattern and roosting. This will be used as a base to develop further information. Studying their habitat patterns and preferences will help the Department in creating suitable habitats to attract the birds.”

Birds recorded: Birds such as Pelican, Hornbill, Painted Stork, Open Billed Stork, River Tern,  Spoon Bill, Night Heron, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Pond Heron, Kingfisher, Swallow, etc. were recorded.  The Forest Department had provided binoculars, details of flora and fauna for reference, booklets and list of do’s and don’ts during the census.

Ananya Kumar, Range Forest Officer (RFO), Puttamade Gowda, Deputy Range Forest Officer (DRFO) and 25 staff members including boatmen were assigned for the census. Three more bird surveys will be conducted at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in May, August and November this year. Bird lovers who are interested to take part in surveys may contact DCF (Wildlife) V. Yedukondalu.

The sanctuary was closed to visitors till 11 am to ensure smooth functioning of the census. The data and photographs from all the teams were collected to get the exact count and analysis.