‘Over 100 bird species identified in Kawal Tiger Reserve’

Mancherial: The maiden bird walks, the Forest Department’s Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR), ended in the core area of the facility around Jannaram mandal centre on Sunday. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) R Shobha was the chief guest of the event. She was joined by Field Director to Project Tiger to Kawal Tiger Reserve […]

Mancherial: The maiden bird walks, the Forest Department’s Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR), ended in the core area of the facility around Jannaram mandal centre on Sunday.

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) R Shobha was the chief guest of the event. She was joined by Field Director to Project Tiger to Kawal Tiger Reserve CP Vinod Kumar. She graced the valedictory ceremony and handed over certificates of appreciation to participants.

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Addressing participant Shobha at Bison Kunta in the core of KTR, said that she was overwhelmed by the great response to the first-ever bird walk by two divisions.

She opined that concerted efforts put in by the foresters resulted in improving forests and the habitat of birds. He declared that similar bird walks and nature walks and forest baths would be organized throughout the season next year.

The head of the Forest Force was all praise for Jannaram Forest Divisional Officer S Madhav Rao and his team for making the event a success. She appreciated young participants such as Rudransh, a Class IV boy and Arnab Bhandari, a Class X student from Hyderabad, Priya and Amrit belonging to Maharashtra for their passion for wildlife photography and nature.

Vinod Kumar opined that he had a great bird walk. He said that about 200 calls were received from birdwatchers, nature lovers and photographers from across the country, but they were forced to restrict the intake to 60 considering the Covid-19 pandemic. He stated that the steps taken by the forest department in the past three to four years helped the tanks to attract bird species including migratory ones.

Over 100 bird species identified

The birdwatchers, nature aficionados, lensmen, students of Forest College and Research Institute of Mulugu, professionals identified over 100 bird species at percolation tanks locally known as Maisammakunta, Ganishettikunta, Kalpakunta, Bisonkunta, Neelgaikunta and other parts of the KTR during the two-day long. They competed with one another to capture images of the winged wonders in their territory in the mornings and evenings.
Some of the birds spotted by the participants included Grey-headed fish eagle, Bronze-winged jacana, Alexandrine parakeet, Common teal, Woolly-necked stork, Open billed stork, Northern pintail, Pied-kingfisher, Blue-tailed bee-eater, Red coloured dove, Indian nuthatch, Waterhen, Eurasian wryneck, Common Iora, India roller, painted stork, river lapwing, green-winged teal, woodpecker, etc.

Spent in the lap of nature

The participants spent leisurely in the lap of nature and stayed under make-shift tents near the tanks at night, enjoying the chirping of lapwings from a distance. They exchanged views on the conservation of forests and wildlife. They expressed their willingness to volunteer with the forest department in its efforts to protect the forest and avian community. They were ferried to birding spots by jeeps and safari vehicles.

They were allowed to provide feedback at the end of the event. Umarani, a teacher, Satish, a nature lover from Hyderabad and Srinivas Rao, a former SCCL employee from Khammam opined that she was going back fully recharged after taking part in the walk. Haragopal Chary, a TSGenco employee, advised the forests to conduct nature and night walks on the lines of Kerala.

Chief Conservator of Forests G Ramalingam, District Forest Officers Vikas Meena, Rajasekhar, Shivani Dogra, S Shantaram, Nikitha Boga, Forest Divisional Officers S Madhav Rao, U Koteshwar Rao, Vinay Kumar Sahu, Forest Range Officers Hafeezuddin, S Venugopal and many others were present.

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