Biratagar, Nov 18: As in the past, the migratory birds have arrived in the rivers and wetlands of terai this year to spend the winter. With the arrival of November, tourist birds have started coming to Nepal. Located at the confluence of Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Sanctuary has become a bird habitat.
Birendra Gautam, Head of Nature Conservation Trust, Koshi Conservation Center, said that even though new species of birds are coming to Koshi Tappu every year, the number of birds coming in flocks has decreased as in previous years.
According to Gautam, “Last year, there are statistics that more than 7,500 birds of 53 species came to Nepal in Koshi alone. Nepal has become an attractive destination for visiting birds, especially for hatching.” But Chief Gautam says that the number of bar-headed geese (Khoya Has) which come in thousands is decreasing.
“Not all species of birds found in Nepal stay in Nepal throughout the year,” said Kurman Mansuri, owner of Bird Watching Camp Koshi Tappu.
According to him, it has been found that visiting birds come in flocks in Barju Lake and Betna Wetlands of Morang in the vicinity of Koshi Tappu.
According to environment journalist and associate professor Ramchandra Adhikari, birds from different parts of Nepal and as far as South India and Siberia can be seen in Betna. There are 49 species of birds in Betna wetland.
Officials informed that 70 percent of them are local, 18 percent are migratory birds coming in winter and 12 percent are birds coming in summer.
“Most of the guest birds that come to Koshitappu also come here, from November to February, it has been found that birds from outside Nepal stay here”, he says.
With the onset of snowfall in the Northern hemisphere, thousands of birds migrate to Nepal’s lower Himalayan regions, mountains and plains and around lakes, ponds and rivers to escape the growing winter. There are statistics that every year about 150 species of birds come to Nepal from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, China, Mongolia as well as from Europe and Tibetan region. About 50 species of birds pass through Nepal to the southern countries of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Migratory birds that come to spend the winter often stay in the major wetlands of Nepal, Koshitappu Wildlife Reserve, Chitwan National Park, Bisahjari Lake, Jagdishpur Lake, Ghodaghodi Lake, Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve and Koshi, Gandaki, Narayani River and its tributaries.
Most of the birds that migrate to Nepal in winter are duck species. Other species include predatory and carnivorous birds, chanchar, small fista, arjunak, gypsy, bhadrai etc.
These birds mostly hatch new babies during there stay here. These birds raise their young and return to their old habitat. Among the 19 species of cuckoos found in Nepal, 15 species do not build their own nests and lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.
The bird considers it as its own child and raises the baby cuckoo. Other birds that come to Nepal are Muralichari, Gazelle Sunchari, Swargachari, Chitrak Pitta, Katus Tauke etc.
