GUWAHATI: Good news for nature lovers. At the beginning of the year, good news came from the permanent freshwater lake on the outskirts of Guwahati, locally called the ‘Deepor Beel’.
A haven for migratory birds, Deepor Beel has seen severe destruction owing to pollution from several rivulets.
Deepor Beel was recognised as a Ramsar site in November 2002. While it has been almost two decades since it got the coveted recognition, the question of whether Deepor Beel can retain the status has been raised for the past few years.
As it has been gradually losing the features required for being a Ramsar site.
However, a census conducted in the bird sanctuary on Wednesday has brought smiles to the faces of nature lovers.
A team of ornithologists, a few Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and the state forest department conducted a bird census at the Ramsar site on Wednesday.
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The results of this bird count, which took several hours, brought smiles to everyone’s face.
As compared to the previous year, the census this time saw a larger number of birds in the lake.
Though the final results are awaited, the bird count in this year’s census is estimated to be between 17,000 and 18,000. The census also saw an increase in the number of bird species.
In the last bird census conducted in February 2022, more than 10,000 birds of 66 species were found at Deepor Beel.
In 2002, 19,000 birds of 291 species were found. With the passage of time, the number of birds in the bird sanctuary began to decline due to the threat to its existence.
Deepor Beel is home to various native and migratory birds. The beauty of the lake increases with the advent of the winter as thousands of migratory birds flock to the wetland.