The Hindu : National : Over 3,500 birds perish in storm

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 15, 2004

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National

Over 3,500 birds perish in storm

By Marcus Dam

KOLKATA, OCT. 14. Nearly 3,500 birds, mostly migratory, along with their hatchlings, were killed in last week's storm that swept through parts of West Bengal. It brought down nests perched on trees in the Raiganj wildlife sanctuary in Uttar Dinajpur district. Officials of the Forest Department who had just started on a census of the birds arriving at the sanctuary this season had to suspend work and start a count of the dead instead.

The sanctuary, better known for its migratory birds, was set up in 1985 over an expanse of 1.3 sq. km of riverine and forest area which has been a natural habitat for the avian visitors from South East Asia. These birds start migrating to the region around June for nesting and laying eggs only to fly away once the nestlings are capable of taking flight around February the following year.

Speaking to The Hindu over phone from Raiganj, the District Forest Officer, A.K. Das, said today a large number of the dead birds were nestling.

The casualties were mainly the open-bill stork, though the other species to migrate to the sanctuary include the night-heron, the egret and the cormorant.

Hundreds of nests littered the sanctuary and forest workers were hard put to clear the area. The sudden drop in temperature following the rains had also taken a heavy toll.

About 70,000 migratory birds visit the sanctuary every year, according to Mr. Das. They mainly feed on fish found in the rivulets branching out from the nearby Kulik river.

Located in the depths of the sanctuary are ponds into which the forest workers release small fish during the migratory season. Normally eggs are laid by August. Come September and the nestlings start emerging. But this time the size of the flock leaving for home at the end of the season will be considerably less.

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