Maha: Bird census in Jayakwadi finds low flamingo numbers

Heavy rainfall last year and high water stock in a nearby dam has resulted in low number of flamingos being spotted in Jayakwadi bird sanctuary in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, forest department officials said on Monday.The department carried out a bird census at 30 spots on Sunday with the help of NGOs, and an area of 60 square kilometres out of the sanctuary's 360 sq km area was covered, said divisional forest officer Vijay Satpute.

"Flamingos, which are the prime attraction in the sanctuary, are missing this year due to heavy rainfall and high water storage in the dam. However, we managed to spot 82 species of birds in the census and tabulation work is underway," he added.

Bird expert Kishore Pathak said other species of birds, apart from flamingos, are also missing this year, and most of these are ones flying in from Central Asia and Europe.

"The pintail duck, painted stork, demoiselle crane, common crane etc are absent this year. They are generally seen along the Jayakwadi banks till February," he said.

Dr Pathak said one of the reasons behind low flamingo numbers could be the lack of spirulina, an algae that grows in fresh and salt water.