The number of Lesser Flamingos visiting the Sambhar Lake and adjoining waterbodies in Rajasthan has declined to 54 this year from 1,812 recorded last year, according to a survey. The bird has already been declared an endangered species and put on the IUCN-Red List, the most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species.
The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC), conducted at the Sambhar Lake and adjoining waterbodies on January 13, has, however, shown an increase in the diversity of migratory birds and a jump in the population of other waterbirds. While the bird diversity has increased from 7 to 31, the number of birds has gone up from 3,155 to 3,495. The number of Greater Flamingos has increased from 1,325 last year to 1,853.
A similar survey was conducted at the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, where a large number of resident and migratory bird species was spotted. Even in foggy and cloudy conditions, the team recorded 44 species of waterbirds, including 18 resident and 26 winter migratory species of a total population of 5,879.
Among the major migratory species with larger populations are Bar-headed Geese, Graylag Geese, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Coot, Gadwal and Common Teal, and among the resident species with a large population are Lesser Whistling Duck and Indian Moorhen.
The AWC was carried out by a team of Wetlands International South Asia and the Territorial Forest Division of Jaipur, led by T.K. Roy, ecologist and AWC Delhi State Coordinator. The areas covered in the Sambhar Lake include the wetlands of Gudha, Jhaping and Devyani. The threatened species spotted include Lesser Flamingo, Eurasian Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit. While the other migratory species found are Bar-headed Geese, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Coot, Northern Pintail, Pied Avocet, Common Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwal and Tuff.
Sambhar is the largest inland saline lake in the country and the largest Ramsar site in Rajasthan.
