A large number of birds came to the water bodies and the forest cover of Bhitarakanika this winter to avoid the intense cold in far-off places beyond the Himalayas, said Kedar Kumar Swain, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the park.
Birds fly thousands of miles to Bhitarakanika to escape the harsh winter in northern Asia and some central European countries. They stayed in Bhitarakanika for four months before flying back.
The first batch of migratory birds usually touches down at Bhitarakanika in the second week of November. However, their arrival was delayed by a couple of weeks this year due to late arrival of winter.
Bhitarakanika, mainly its Bagagahana, received a large number of migratory birds belonging to 87 species. The bird census was conducted in January by forest officials with the help of environmentalists and NGOs, the forest officer said.
Also Read
"We hope that more birds will arrive before the advent of next winter", said the forest officer.
The district veterinary officials in last December collected blood samples of at least 140 migratory and local birds to detect the presence of any flu-affected avian species. But could not trace out any H5N1 (flu virus) affected birds, said the chief district veterinary officer, Rabindra Kumar Sahu.