Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Winged visitors adapting to changed environment

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Dec 18 � Even as the footfall of visitors increase on the revered Nilachal Hill select types of avifauna appear to have proliferated amid the existing vegetation, according to some bird watchers who have frequented the area in recent times.

First-hand reports have revealed that not less than 20 species of birds can be seen on a December morning on particular stretches, and some can be spotted in smaller open spaces. Some of the birds can be watched even close to the township of Kamakhya, implying that birds have adapted to an environment changed by humans.

Debajit, a nature enthusiast from Guwahati, pointed out that during a birding trip his group recorded around 25 species of birds during a few hours. �It was unlike any other bird watching experience�at least not inside many other cities,� he remarked. Unlike other hills in and around Guwahati, the Nilachal Hill has been able to retain some forest cover, which has ensured the survival of a variety of birds. It is believed that some wild cats have also survived in the area because of the presence of birds which form part of their prey base.

Conservation worker and writer Mubina Akhtar, who along with photographer Hemanta Debnath recently visited the Nilachal Hill on a bird watching trip, spotted nearly a dozen types of birds during a short span of time.

Babbler, black headed bulbul, blue throated barbet, bee-eater, golden oriole, mynah, and woodpecker were some of the birds she and Debnath were able to observe on a short stretch of the road close to the Bhabaneshwari temple.

Next Story