Guwahati: In the latest bird count at Deepor Beel in Guwahati, a total of 96 species and 26,747 birds were found to be living at the Ramsar Site.
On the morning of January 4, 2023, the Guwahati Wildlife Division with its annual Bird Count in Deepor Beel along with the Spot Bird Photography contest found 26,747 and 96 species of birds.
The entire wetland was divided into 9 areas where nine groups conducted the bird count on foot as well as via country boats. The methodology adopted was the Visual Encounter Survey.
In total 37 participants were part of the exercise. The participants comprised bird experts, student volunteers, members of NGOs and Forest officials of the Assam Forest department.
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Eminent Ornithologist Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury was also present during the Bird Count.
“This Bird Count exercise of January 2023 in the only Ramsar site of Assam revealed greater species diversity and also increase in the total bird count as compared to 2021’s record of 66 bird species and total bird count of 10289”, a statement read.
List of Birds Recorded in Deepor Beel:
| Sl. No. | English Name | Total | |
| 1 | Common Pochard | 2234 | |
| 2 | Cotton Pygmy Geese | 103 | |
| 3 | Greylag Geese | 237 | |
| 4 | Lesser Whistling Duck | 3901 | |
| 5 | Ruddy Shelduck | 4 | |
| 6 | Common Teal | 9 | |
| 7 | Ferrugineous Pochard | 2544 | |
| 8 | Gadwall | 891 | |
| 9 | Northern Pintail | 650 | |
| 10 | Northern Shoveller | 148 | |
| 11 | Tufted Duck | 100 | |
| 12 | Fulvous Whistling Duck | 65 | |
| 13 | Red Crested Pochard | 169 | |
| 14 | Greater Adjutant Stork | 78 | |
| 15 | Lesser Adjutant Stork | 11 | |
| 16 | Asian Openbill | 122 | |
| 17 | great crested grebe | 35 | |
| 18 | Little grebe | 78 | |
| 19 | Glossy Ibis | 340 | |
| 20 | Cattle Egret | 670 | |
| 21 | Little Egret | 5 | |
| 22 | Intermediate Egret | 75 | |
| 23 | Great Egret | 44 | |
| 24 | Grey Heron | 4 | |
| 25 | Purple Heron | 26 | |
| 26 | Indian Pond Heron | 62 | |
| 27 | Oriental Darter | 3 | |
| 28 | Great Cormorant | 15 | |
| 29 | Little Cormorant | 451 | |
| 30 | Booted Eagle | 2 | |
| 31 | Eurasian Coot | 1500 | |
| 32 | Purple Swamphen | 358 | |
| 33 | Little Ringed Plover | 5 | |
| 34 | Grey-headed Lapwing | 87 | |
| 35 | Northern Lapwing | 128 | |
| 36 | Red-wattled Lapwing | 31 | |
| 37 | Black-winged Stilt | 564 | |
| 38 | Bronge-winged Jacana | 37 | |
| 39 | Pheasant-tailed Jacana | 47 | |
| 40 | wood sandpiper | 41 | |
| 41 | Green Sandpiper | 8 | |
| 42 | Sandpiper u/k | 1 | |
| 43 | Common Sandpiper | 6 | |
| 44 | Common Redshank | 4 | |
| 45 | Common Greenshank | 12 | |
| 46 | Pied Kingfisher | 3 | |
| 47 | White-breasted Kingfisher | 19 | |
| 48 | Barn Swallow | 6961 | |
| 49 | Citrine Wagtail | 135 | |
| 50 | Rosy Pipit | 3 | |
| 51 | Osprey | 2 | |
| 52 | Siberian Stone Chat | 15 | |
| 53 | Black Drongo | 30 | |
| 54 | Black Kite | 100 | |
| 55 | unknown pipit | 2 | |
| 56 | Richard Pipit | 1 | |
| 57 | Rosy Pipit | 211 | |
| 58 | Paddyfield Pipit | 19 | |
| 59 | Asian Pied starling | 44 | |
| 60 | Brown shrike | 12 | |
| 61 | Common Kestrel | 2 | |
| 62 | Chestnut Tailed Starling | 22 | |
| 63 | Striated Grassbird | 15 | |
| 64 | Blyth’s Reed Warbler | 1 | |
| 65 | Clamorous Reed Warbler | 3 | |
| 66 | Jungle Mynah | 56 | |
| 67 | spotted dove | 3 | |
| 68 | Plain Prinia | 7 | |
| 69 | Indian Cormorant | 1 | |
| 70 | Great Cormorant | 3 | |
| 71 | Blyth’s Reed Warbler | 5 | |
| 72 | Dusky Warbler | 6 | |
| 73 | common tailor bird | 5 | |
| 74 | Red Vented Bulbul | 4 | |
| 75 | Great Mynah | 2 | |
| 76 | common mynah | 4 | |
| 77 | ruddy breasted crake | 1 | |
| 78 | Sand Martin/Bank Swallow | 1 | |
| 79 | Grey Throated Martin | 8 | |
| 80 | Asian Palm Swift | 8 | |
| 81 | wood swallow | 2 | |
| 82 | brown-headed seagull | 26 | |
| 83 | greenish warbler | 1 | |
| 84 | White Wagtail | 10 | |
| 85 | black-tailed godwit | 1 | |
| 86 | Temminck’s Stint | 30 | |
| 87 | Siberian Rubythroat | 1 | |
| 88 | Bengal Bushlark | 2 | |
| 89 | Black Headed Oriole | 1 | |
| 90 | Eurasian Hoop | 3 | |
| 91 | Oriental Honey Buzzard | 2 | |
| 92 | Ashy Wood Swallow | 2 | |
| 93 | Crow | 12 | |
| 94 | Zitting Cisticola | 1 | |
| 95 | Eurasian Tree Sparrow | 26 | |
| 96 | long-tailed Shrike | 8 | |
| 97 | small pratincole | 3000 | |
| Grand Total | 26747 |
Along with the bird count exercise, a spot bird photography contest was also organised.
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Divisional Forest Officer Jayashree Naiding stated that this is the second consecutive year of bird count exercise conducted by the Guwahati Wildlife Division.
She thanked all Volunteers for active participation in the documentation of the Avifauna of the only Ramsar site of Assam.