Third edition of ‘Sunderban Bird Festival’ to kick off from January 22

Kolkata: The third edition of the Sundarban Bird Festival scheduled to be held from January 22 to 26 will offer bird lovers a chance to click the winged guests in the Sunderbans which is otherwise famous for tigers and the crocodiles.

The event, scheduled to be held at Sajnekhali, is meant for creating a platform for knowledge sharing and discussion on the conservation of the birds in Sunderbans and recording their occurrence, distribution and habitat preferences in the archipelago.

“The event is an important initiative to deliver the message of conservation of birds in Sunderbans which holds a place of high significance as it lies along the junction of two major Avian Flyways (Central Asian and East Eurasian flyway) and plays a crucial role in the foraging and breeding habits in the winter migration of birds using these flyways,” said Forest department official.

The Central Asian Flyway is considered the second most important resting place for birds in the world. There are 20 birds which need special attention as per international convention. Ten of these are found here.

Sunderban Tiger Reserve and South 24-Parganas Division under the guidance of Wildlife Wing of the Forest Department of West Bengal is organising the festival. Around 24 participants will be part of it. They will be split into smaller teams and travel on boats along different islands in the STR and the South 24-Parganas forest division with a central camping site at Sajnekhali.

The second edition had 145 species and 8,776 birds sighted. The sightings included non-migratory birds as well. Some rare migratory birds like the Eurasian Oystercatcher and Nordmann’s greenshank, one of the most endangered shorebirds on Earth, have also been sighted in the Sunderbans in recent years.

In the previous edition, National Park West, one of the four ranges of the STR, recorded the maximum sightings of species (75), followed by the Basirhat range (70).