Eleven new bird species spotted in Sindh

The Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) registers a visible increase in the flocks of migratory birds each year, with recording arrival of 11 new species this year.

According to the annual waterfowl census of 2023-2024, a total of 639,122 birds have been recorded at almost 30 spots, including Keenjhar Lake, Manchhar Lake, Hamal Lake, Haleji Lake, Rann of Kutch, Langh Lake and Nariri Lagoon.

The survey team of the department carried out the annual census during January and February.

The survey revealed 11 new species which were recorded in the province for the first time, including the bar-headed goose, Indian spot-billed duck, lesser flamingo, cotton pygmy goose, oriental darter, Asian woolly necked stork, red-naped ibis, black-headed ibis, black-necked grebe, Indian cormorant and jack snipe.

The 'World Wildlife Day' is celebrated on March 3 (Sunday) with the theme of 'Connecting people and planet', and 'Exploring digital innovation in wildlife conservation'.

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According to the survey, the 70 species spotted include, bar headed goose, Indian spot bill duck, lesser whistling duck, northern pintail, ferruginous duck, common pochard, eurasian wigeon, gadwall, tufted duck, mallard, common teal, northern shoveler, gargany, marbled duck, common shel duck, cotton pygmy goose, oriental darter, white strok, black strok, Asian woolly necked strok, red naped ibis, black head ibis, common crane, eurasian spoonbill, dalmatian pelican, great white pelican, lesser flamingo, great flamingo, pied avocet, common red shank, common greenshank, bar tailed godwit, eurasian curlew, eurasian whimbrel, black tailed godwit, baillon's crake, little crake, little grebe, black necked grebe, great crested grebe, common sandpiper, wood sandpiper, little ringed plover, little stint, green sandpiper, dunlin, sanderling, black bellied tern, gull billed tern, whiskered tern, lesser crested tern, jack snip, pintail snipe, Indian cormorant, great cormorant, glossy ibis, eurasian coot, small pratincole, collared pratincole, oriental pratincole, great egret, grey plover and pacific golden plover have been recorded.

As per the data, the coastal belt's Badin district proved to be a better region for the birds as 168,964 birds were recorded at Nariri Lagoon and 117,790 birds were seen in the Rann of Kutch area.

SWD's provincial head Javed Ahmed Mahar said that new species confirm conservation efforts by the department, making the environment peaceful and ideal for the birds. "This survey reveals new species and we are happy that each year we witness more birds coming to Sindh," he said.

He also said that the department was celebrating the 'World Wildlife Day'.

"We are already working on the theme," he said, quoting examples of using digital platforms for better conservation of wildlife. "We use digital platforms to keep the people updated and create awareness about the wildlife and its importance," he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2024.