Kolkata: The first-ever ‘Bird Festival’ kicked off in the Sunderbans on Tuesday to create a platform for knowledge sharing and discussion on the future of the conservation of the Sunderban birds. Interestingly, the day began with the sighting of a rare bird from the Lothian sanctuary under the South 24-Parganas Forest division.
The bird named Eurasian Oystercatcher or Common pied Oystercatcher belongs to the near-threatened category in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list. The bird was photographed by Professor Supratim Mukherjee.
Ajoy Kumar Das, Field Director of Sunderban Tiger Reserve (STR) said: “The 15 participants of the bird festival have been divided into six teams. A resource person and an eco guide have been tagged with each of them. They will be going in six different directions- namely National East, National West, Basirhat, Sajnekhali, Matla and Kalas. They will not only record the occurrence of various birds but also find out their habitat and living conditions. Besides, they will also delve deep into the ecology of the Sunderbans”.
The STR has come together with the South 24 Parganas Forest division to bring to life this first-ever Sundarban Bird Festival.
Central Asian Flyway, a major bird migration route in Asia passes over Sunderbans and is considered to be the second most important resting place for birds in the world.
As per international convention, 20 birds need special attention and 10 among them are found here. Debal Roy, Chief Wildlife Warden, Bengal said: “Our main reason for organising such a festival is because it is extremely important to record their occurrence, distribution, and habitat preferences”. The festival will continue till February 10.