Pong Dam Lake

Pong Dam Lake

1.23 Lakh Migratory Birds Visit

Ornithologists from institutions like Bombay Natural History Society, Wildlife Institute of India and Zoological Survey of India, besides 150 bird watchers took part in the two-day exercise on January 31st and February 1st. Bird watchers from the Delhi Bird Club, Chandigarh Bird Club and Pong Birding Society also took part in the census. Bar-headed geese coming from Tibet and Mongolia outnumbered the rest of the migratory birds.  34,000 bar-headed geese arrived this year, which was the highest number of the species in the entire country.The bird census at the Pong Dam wetland has revealed that 1.23 lakh birds arrived this year. The census was conducted on January 31st and February 1st. The number of winged visitors this year stood at 1, 23,000 of 113 different species at Pong Dam lake during this season. Most of these birds migrate from Trans-Himalaya region in Tibet, Central Asia, Russia and Siberia. The number of species visiting the lake went up from last year’s 95 to stand at 113. The census found that birds belonging to the species like Bar-Headed Goose, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard and Little Corromrant arrived to the lake this winter. Whooper Swan was seen in the Pong Dam Lake after gap of 113 years. The last time the bird was spotted in the country was in the year 1900, when it was seen near Talwara in Punjab.

Other bird varieties recorded  included the northern pintail (21,000), the common coot (14,000), the common pochard (12,000), the tufted pochard (8,000), the little cormorant (7,700), the common teal (6,800), the common shelduck (35), the ruddy breasted trake (1), the grey legged goose (50), the red crested pochard (110), the white fronted goose (60), the sarus crane (7) and the osprey (7). Among the birds of prey following migratory birds, five western marsh harriers and a variety of falcons were also recorded.

 Whooper Swan Spotted after 113 Years

Rare migratory bird Whooper Swan has been spotted in Pong Dam Lake after a long gap of 113 years. Whooper Swans, which come from Central Asia and Europe and are rare migrants to India, were last spotted in the country in 1900 near river Beas