Census of water birds ongoing

Inarwa / Jan 6: A census of water birds in the Simsar area of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve began on Saturday.

A census of the aquatic birds in and around Koshi Tappu has been initiated in order to find out the number and the situation of such birds, said Coordinator of Koshi Birds Society, Sunsari Anis Timsena.

The census is being carried out jointly by the Society, Himali Prakriti, Nepal Ornithologists Association and the Wildlife reserve. The counting of the birds began on Saturday from Saptakoshi river in Chatara to Prakashpur in the northern border of the Reserve.

The census is expected to help the government in developing a strategy for the protection of the water birds, said Joint Secretary of the Society Sanjiv Acharya. The census will be carried out for five days.

A total of 14 people divided into two groups are simultaneously working in the census work. They are using boats, safari jeep, camera, binoculars and telescope to carry out the census. Census of water birds in the Reserve is taking place every January since the past seven years.

The latest census showed that there are 526 species of birds in the reserve area, of which 56 are water birds. RSS