This time each year, hundreds of migratory birds mostly from Northern Eurasia, the Caspian region, Siberia, Kazakh, lake Baikal and remote areas of Russia and Southeast Asia flock to the Chilika lake. This year, however, only a handful has arrived so far.
Officials say it could be because of the late onset of winter chill. The wildlife department has spotted migratory birds at the Nalabana and Mangalajodi islands in Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon.
According to Chilika Wildlife DFO Bikash Ranjan Das, three species of migratory birds have so far arrived in the Chilika. “They have come in a few numbers. Though they have reached, they have not nested so far. We hope more migratory birds would arrive shortly,” said Das.
Source said about five to seven species of migratory birds have been seen in the Chilika so far this year. Among them are northern pintail, gadwall and shovellers. Every year, 120-125 species of migratory visit the lagoon.
Ornithologists also predicted that the delay may be due to some problem in their flying route.
The 1,000-sq-km lake, spread over Puri, Khordha and Ganjam districts along the eastern coast, is home to some of the largest congregations of migratory birds in the country.
Every year, about a million migratory birds used to throng the lake in October and return in March with the onset of summer.