A day-long annual enumeration of migratory birds at the Hirakud Dam Reservoir here began on Saturday. As many as 15 teams from Hirakud Wildlife Division embarked on the census, the Hirakud division DFO informed.
While 12 teams were engaged in the census in the reservoir area, three were pressed into service in the power canal area.
Prior to this, an orientation programme for the participants had been conducted for smooth conduct of the survey.
Notably, the number of migratory birds visiting the reservoir dipped significantly over the last few years. As many as 79,000 birds had visited the reservoir in 2012-13 and 64,000 in 2013-14.
However, the number further plunged to 58,000 in 2014-15.