Baya weaver birds spotted in Ganjam

The sighting is a good sign as the population is declining

Berhampur: Bird watchers are delighted as they have spotted several newly-sprung, intricately-woven nests of the baya weaver in different trees near the mouth of the Rushikulya river in Odisha’s Ganjam district. The helmet-shaped nests have been seen hanging from trees, including a palm tree. The nests are the indefatigable effort of the baya weavers, an endangered bird species, to protect the family from predators.

“We have found over 100 such nests in a single palm tree at a farm field in Subalaya,” said Rabindra Nath Sahu, the honorary wildlife warden for Ganjam.

He and Magata Behera — one of the members of the Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee in Puruna Bandha – have recently sighted the nests while they conducted a survey on the nests of the baya weaver.

Besides Subalaya, they have also found the nests in at least 10 trees near Kantiagada near the river mouth — — the famous rookery for the olive ridley turtles.

The nests were also spotted at the Ganjam railway station and near the wetlands in different areas in Chhatrapur, Beguniapada, Rangeilunda and Kabisurya Nagar blocks. The total number of nests is around 2,000, said Sahu.

The sighting of such a large number of nests in the district is a good sign at a time the population of the baya weavers is declining in other parts of the country, Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Amlan Nayak said.

Ornithologists said the male baya weavers make a nest with super craftsmanship to secure it from predators and water with sufficient heat shield.

The female inspects the nest and if it finds it to be good enough, it accepts the advances of the male bird.