Migratory birds overstaying in Chilika

This was revealed from the summer bird count conducted by the wildlife division of the forest department.

As many as 77,609 birds of 75 species were spotted in the 1100 sq km lake. These included several migratory birds, official sources said today.

Migratory species like the pelican, open billed stork, painted stork and little cormorant were overstaying in the lake. More birds were found in Badagotha and Mangalajodi areas in the lake than Nalabana bird sanctuary area in the summer, DFO (Chilika Wildlife) B P Acharya said.

During last summer 41,259 birds had taken shelter in the lake, the sources said.

The presence of the birds in the lake during summer indicated they were accustomed to adverse conditions including scorching heat, a senior forest officer said.