Kendrapara: Diverse avian guests have started arriving at the Bhitarkanika National Park with the onset of winter, according to a senior Forest official. Rajnagar Mangrove Forest (Wildlife) Division DFO Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav, said Sunday that shore bird species like sandpiper, plover, ducks, goose, heron, cormorants, spoonbill, and egret have started thronging Barunei Muhana, Chataka, Praharajpur, Bagagahan, Satabhaya and Raitapatia.
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Every year in mid-November, various types of migratory as well as residential bird species throng Bhitarkanika to escape the harsh winter. The Bhitarkanika water bodies provide a unique ecosystem along with food chains and a congenial environment for the birds to settle down in the water bodies. As many as 121 types of bird species with a population of 1,51,421 thronged Bhitarkanika National Park last winter as per the report of the mid-winter waterfowl bird status survey. Birds fly thousands of miles to Bhitarakanika to escape the harsh winter from the northern hemisphere and Ladakh regions. The Bhitarkanika is stated to be the transit point for the migratory bird species as the birds throng in large numbers when the chill increases. The migratory birds, after staying in the water bodies, return when the water bodies near the Bhitarkanika National Park dry up, informed DFO Yadav.