Bird lovers have formed Barunabanta Bana Suraksha Committee and showed the warmth of their heart for the winged creatures by protecting them from predators and poachers in the Mahabinayak reserve forest, 56 km from here.
The nearby villagers of the forest area take every care of the monsoon birds that throng the forest for nesting and breeding in the trees. Not only in the forest, but in the roadside trees in the market and by roads, the birds are free and safe. Now, over 10,000 avian guests are nesting on the roadside trees between the busy Dhanamandal Railway Station and Darpana tehsil.
According to Barunabanta Bana Suraksha Committee president Anirudhha Samantaray, a large number of avian species have formed their nests and are laying eggs during the monsoon season. “About 100 nests have been sighted this year in the locality. The villagers are guarding the birds from poachers. The committee members also provide treatment to the birds if they get injured and repair the nests if they get destroyed due to wind and rain,” he said.
According to locals, about five types of bird species have formed nests in the banayan, peepal, neem and chakhunda trees. The species are open bill stork, large egret, median egret, small egret, cattle egret and cormorant. Generally, the feathered guests come in mid June every year and leave the place in mid November. Cuttack DFO Sudarshan Behera, praising the efforts of the villagers, stated that the members and the local public are explicit in their attitude and tolerant towards the local residential water birds.
“We feel that these birds have added colour to our hectic lives and made our area picturesque. We treat these birds as our assets,” said Manas Panda, a local.