Sunday, August 20, 2000		Article

DURING the rainy season, water floods the basins of Bhitarkanika. The water level rises with the swelling of the rivers and half of the islands get submerged. And then, hundreds and hundreds of species of birds return to their nesting grounds in ‘Bagagahana’, which literally means a large heronry’. Openbill storks, egrets, herons, darters and cormorants are the chief species of the birds that dominate the heronry. The number of birds usually exceeds 50,000 every year.

Every year in June, these birds congregate in large numbers here. Trees like Guan, Sundari, Singada and Jagula are preferred by the herons for nesting. The openbill stork builds its nest on the top of the canopy whereas the lower branches are as nested by smaller birds.

Apart from Bagagahana, Kalibhanjadev, an island on mouth of Dhamara river, is the only other major site for nesting birds. These are local water birds. Occasionally, pelicans and flamingoes are also seen, but they do not rest or breed here.

The highly productive mangrove provides enough fish, prawns, frogs, snakes and molluscan meat to the birds. The openbill storks selectively breed on molluscs Pila globosa and feed on molluscs from the surrounding agricultural land.

That is why the bird is called ‘the farmer’s friend’. The dense mangrove vegetation, the large mass of water body, tranquillity and pollution-free environment provide an ideal habitat for a wide variety of birds.

Local birds that are commonly sighted are four species of kingfisher, jungle babbler, egret, heron, country myna, grey hornbill, lorikeet, hoopoe, spotted dove, common sandpiper, avocet, prover, wagtail etc. Among the migratory birds, the most prominent ones are: barheaded geese, brahminy ducks, painted storks, river terns, seagulls and pelicans. These birds arrive with the onset of the monsoon in early June and fly away by November.

More than 200 species of birds have so far been identified in Bhitarkanika. The nesting process is over by the end of November. Darters (snakebirds), grey herons and purple herons start breeding early and often young fledglings are seen by August. The openbill and the white ibis are amongst the late breeders with their young seen during September. During early September, the nesting birds are counted. All nest-bearing trees are marked and the number of nests on each tree along the bird species are recorded. Openbill storks form 60 per cent of the total nesting population. The Guan tree is the most preferred one for nesting.

The strong acidic excreta and broken tree tops degrades the tree canopy very fast so that the trees remain stunted and become unsuitable for formation of nests after recurrent nesting for a few years. The

colonial or gregarious nesting behaviour reduces the predatory pressure on the birds. But below the canopies, crocodiles and snakes congregate in large numbers to devour the chicks that fall into the water. Snakes climb up in search of bird’s eggs and their chicks. Frogs are the most threatened species in the neighbourhood. A large number of vultures are attracted by the smell of the dead.

Bhitarkanika is inaccessible in the monsoon, but offers an attractive alternative in Bagagahana.