Several of the dying wetlands of Bangalore have suddenly sprung to life. They have beckoned several thousands of winged visitors from outside the country. Many of these birds have traveled thousands of kilometer and made these wetlands their temporary abode.
Coinciding with the World Wetlands Day which falls on February 2, the annual waterfowl census conducted by a group of 25 birdwatchers using block counting method during the past one month reveals that several of the tanks are hosting bird populations of more than 5,000. Out of the 21 tanks studied under a census, the Byramangala tank has by far revealed the highest number of birds, a massive 40,000 birds. The second highest has been the Hoskote tank with 26,000 ducks, while the Ramapura tank revealed about 4,000 ducks. Large congregations of pelicans, large and small cormorants were seen in the Yelamallappa shetty tank on the old Madras road. Under the Ramsar convention on Wetlands, to which india is a signatory, any wetlands supporting a population of 20,000 water birds regularly can be declared as a wetland of international significance.
Among the birds that were recorded during the senses include, shovellers, garganeys, pintails pochards, spot-billed ducks, painted storks, black and white ibis, spot billed pelicans, spoonbills, sand-pipers, white necked storks, pheasant-tailed jacanas, egrets, pond herons and barheaded geese. The ducks fly all the way from Northern Central Asia, while the waders come from around the Artic Circles and sandpipers from Northern Asia making several stopovers in north India before reaching Bangalore.
Birds counts in these tanks have been carried out regularly every year from 1987 onwards and the data has found its place in the Asian Waterfowl Census report prepared by the International Waterfowl and Wetland research Bureau. As winter in northern Asia would be very harsh, these birds migrate to the south.
They arrive in the month of September every year to Bangalore and return back to their region in April the following year. With a steady decline in tanks due to encroachments, pollution, breakdown of valley system and over utilization of water, the number of some birds species has also reduced. A few of the tanks, this year, have also shown a drastic decline in birds counts compared to lst year, says Naveein O C, who has been taking part in the census for several years.
Auctioning of tanks for fishing and boating in tanks are major problems. It has been observed that wherever fishing and boating exists, birds avoid such water bodies, says ornithologist Dr M B Krishna. The group will conduct census in another 10 tanks in the next fortnight before calling it a day.
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