Migratory Birds Count Rises in Kaziranga

04 Feb, 2025

Two Wetlands in Kaziranga: A Crucial Stopover for Numerous Migratory Birds

The findings of the latest waterbird census include that the two interconnected wetlands, Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, notably outnumbered the bird populations of numerous Indian Ramsar sites. The recent migration of an array of avian/water species has significantly led to exceeding the bird counts to approximately 1,12,000 birds of 124 species, in Kaziranga of Assam.

The recent two-day (January 11th and 12th) of this sixth Kaziranga Waterbird Count exercise was carried out by five observers, four coordinators, 93 enumerators and 62 volunteers, from various institutions, government and non-government organizations, contributing to making it one of the largest Citizen Science Movement in recent times.

Record of the Migrated Population

The Director of Assam’s Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) Sonali Ghosh said that, a total of 1,12,062 migratory water and wetland-dependent birds of 124 species have been recorded so far.

Authorities have it that, out of 124 species, 62 were winter migrants, globally threatened and near-threatened species are marked as 7 and 15 respectively.

Key sightings of this intriguing migration encapsulates the critically endangered Baer’s Pochard and Pallas’s Fish Eagle. Whereas, Knob-billed Duck, Baer’s Pochard, Falcated Duck, White-tailed Eagle, and Greater white-fronted Goose have been sighted for the very first time.

Conclusion

The survey of the sixth Kaziranga waterbird count exercise concludes that the record has been the highest so far, upon announcing the results on Sunday. A fascinating opportunity for bird watchers particularly, to relish their desired sighting of the rare bird population.