Rajanagar, Sept 4: The Odisha Forest department kicked off the annual monsoon bird census in Bhitarkanika National Park here on Sunday.
Five teams have been deployed in the five-day-long census to create a scientific database of the bird population in the park.
Four teams are counting birds in the Dangamal range and one team in the Rajanagar range. Five forest personnel have been included in each group.
The census is aimed to ascertain the bird species and their preferred season when they come to nest here in the monsoon season, said Manas Das, forest range officer of the park. The type of vegetation preferred by the birds will also be scientifically documented, he added.
Tourists are allowed to visit Bhitarkanika National Park during the avian census.
In 2022, forest officials counted 1,16,070 nesting birds of 10 species in Bhitarkanika. This year the number is expected to increase as more native birds have flocked into the park.
