Dehradun: In recently held 12th great Himalayan bird count-2024, a bird survey was conducted by Action and Research for conservation in Himalayas and it has revealed that Uttarakhand’s 75 Himalayan trails have around 340 bird species.
However, as per the data, Uttarakhand is the home to more than 1300 bird species and around 750 species have been spotted across the state.
All the bird habitats were included in this bird count
From Banganga wetlands in the east to Asan conservation reserve in the west, all the major habitats of bird species in the Garhwal region have been included in this bird count survey. This survey was conducted from 7 to 10 November and concluded yesterday. Simultaneously, Arakote-Cheeva high altitude region was also explored including meadows like Har-Ki-Doon, Dayara, Yamunotri, and alpine snowline of Deoria Tal. Moreover, this survey covers all the grasslands of Bedni and Auli meadows to Chopta-Tungnath-Pung bugyal including all the river valleys of Pauri-Khirsu in the east and Tons in the west.
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Bird species spotted during survey
The most frequently spotted bird species were the Monal, Koklas, Golden Eagle, Lammergeier, and Himalayan Griffon. Additionally, sightings included the Himalayan Buzzard, Cheer Pheasant, Collared Falconet, Great and Blue-throated Barbet, Peregrine Falcon, Red-billed Chough, Alpine Chough, Lesser Fish Eagle, Rose finch, Cinereous Vulture, Red-headed Vulture, Snow Pigeon, Hen Harrier, Alpine Accentor, Nuthatch, Tree creepers, Vegetalis, Steppe Eagle, Brown Dipper, Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Golden Bush Robin, Redstart, and Forktail. Furthermore, Speckled Wood Pigeon, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Grosbeak, Bunting, Grey-headed Parakeet, Barn Owl, and Sunbird were also observed.
All the National Parks and wildlife sanctuaries were explored
All the prominent National parks and wildlife reserves were included in this survey like Rajaji national park, Benog bird sanctuary, Gangotri National Park, Govind wildlife sanctuary, Kanchula-Kharag musk deer sanctuary, Nanda Devi biosphere, Mahasu-temple Hanol, Surkanda Devi, Kedarnath, Triyugi Narayan and many others.
A team of 108 enthusiasts participated
In this survey, a total of 108 people participated who came from different parts of the country. Apart from 340 bird species, many mammals like leopard, Martin, cats, wild boars, barking deer, and Ghoral were also spotted.
