Kendrapara, Jul18 : Thousands of residential birds have started arriving in the Bhitarkanika National Park for breeding and nesting.
According to forest official sources, about 20,000 residential birds have been thronging Matha-adia, Durgaprasad dia and Laxmi Prasad dia heronries.
The dense mangrove vegetation and its serene pollution free atmosphere have once again proved attractions for the residential winged visitors to Bhitarkanika National park.
Basically, 11 types of residential birds throng to Bhitarkanika National park every year for nesting and breeding during the monsoon.
They are Open bill stork, Little cormorant, Intermediate Egret, Large Egret, Little Egret, Purple Heron, Grey Heron, Night Heron, Darter, White Ibis and Cattle Egret .
The Matha-adiha heronry has been the most favourite nesting and breeding place for these monsoon birds since the last half decade.
However, last year the monsoon chose Laxmi Prasad dia and Durgaprasad dia as favourite places for nesting and breeding.
Much to the disappointment of birdwatchers, the monsoon birds skipped Bagagahan heronry, which was over the last several years the favourite nesting place for residential birds.
The avian species selectively use species of mangroves for constructing nests in the trees of Guan, Sundari , sinduka, Bani and Jagula.
Official sources said, an estimated 97,866 monsoon bird species, including 47,915 chicks, were spotted by the enumerators and 21,185 nests were sighted by forest enumeration teams during monsoon bird census conducted in August last year.
Open bill stork prefers to form its nest in Guan tree while the avian specie prefers its nest on the top canopy. The lower most branches are preferred by smaller birds like little cormorants, forest officials said.
UNI
