Common cranes reach Telangana from Europe

A flock of common cranes were sighted in the backwaters of the Sriram Sagar Project in Nizamabad district

Sangareddy: In a rare sighting, a flock of common cranes were sighted in the backwaters of the Sriram Sagar Project in Nizamabad district by seasoned wildlife photographer Santosh Kumar Kytham on Saturday.

The Common Crane, native to Europe, is also called the Eurasian Crane. The bird, a medium-sized species, is a winter migrant to Telangana.

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However, they have been sighted and photographed only twice on Telangana soil so far. The first time they were sighted was in the Singur Project in Sangareddy in 2020 by a team of seasoned birders from Hyderabad. Santosh Kumar’s sighting was the first in Nizamabad.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Santosh Kumar said he saw two common cranes in the backwaters of the Sriram Sagar project last Sunday. Hoping for a better day in photography, Kumar said he went for another stroll along the backwaters of Sriram Sagar on Saturday.

This time, he chanced upon a flock of nearly 20 birds. Kumar said he managed to take a number of photographs. The birds move in shallow waters, flooded areas and swampy meadows and feed on roots, leaves, fruits, seeds and pond weeds. The average weight of a Common Crane is put at 5.4 kg, he said.

Kumar, an educationist by profession, started wildlife photography in 2019. He has photographed over 200 bird species across Telangana so far. He is also known for his photographs of blackbucks in the backwaters of Sriram Sagar. Kumar is also the founder of the Nizamabad Environmental Conservation Society (NEWS).