The Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district has reestablished itself as a congenial habitat of resident water birds, maintaining a stable nesting population of winged species, a senior official said today.
The official statistics of the annual colonial bird census released on Monday pegged their population at 1,30,796 belonging to ten species. With this, the population of monsoon birds has increased marginally this year in comparison to 1,30,123 birds sighted in 2024.
“The consistent presence of diverse water bird species underlines the ecological importance of Bhitarkanika Mangroves as one of the largest heronries in Asia.
”The annual nesting congregation not only enhances the ecological richness of the mangrove ecosystem but also provides critical insights into the conservation status of colonial water birds. The Mangrove Wildlife Division, Rajnagar, remains committed to ensuring the protection of wetland habitats and safeguarding the future of these avian species,” said Varadaraj Gaonkar, Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove Wildlife Division.
The census teams monitored all the water bodies and mangrove forest areas of Mathadia, Laxmiprasaddia, Durgaprasaddia, and Balidia heronries in and around the Bhitarkanika National Park.
The Asian Open-billed Stork continued to dominate the nesting colonies, with 15,919 nests, making it the most abundant species in the region. Other significant species include the Black-headed ibis, Purple Heron, Large Egret, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Little Cormorant, Black-crowned Night Heron, and Darter.
Among the heronry sites, Laxmiprasad-Dia (13,594 nests) and Matha-Adia (13,261 nests) emerged as the major nesting hubs, contributing the bulk of the nesting population.
The preferred nesting tree species remains Bani (Avicennia officinalis), along with Guan, Kerauan, Oruan, Sinduka, and Sundari.
Abundant fish in the river and creeks, and distance from human habitation, have made it a congenial breeding spot for thousands of birds. Lack of human interference also comes in handy for birds, for these birds make and mend nests, collect green branches for building and repairing nests, lay, incubate, and hatch eggs, feed fledglings, and guard them from predators, said the forest officer.
It’s pertinent to note here that noted ornithologist Dr Salim Ali made a chance discovery of the Bhitarkanika birds’ habitat while on a casual visit to Bhitarkanika in 1981.