OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOKRAJHAR: A group of students from the Department of Zoology of the Bodoland University (BU) recently visited the Champamati River Reservoir to study wetland birds as a part of a specialization programme.
Sources from the BU said that during the fag end of winter season, the migratory birds set to return to their breeding ground. Taking this opportunity, a team of 13 students of Wildlife Specialization of Zoology Department of the BU in their fourth semester made a visit to the water reservoir against the barrage on the Champamati River (26°36' N, 90°22' E). The river water is arrested here by a barrage for a major irrigation project of 2005-06. The flow of water is restricted upstream and the river now looks like a lake without almost any flow of water. There are some reeds in some islands and macrophytes like water hyacinth, pistia, etc. have given this wetland a shape of a stagnant water body. This metamorphosed wetland has been an abode of different water birds and water-dependent bird species. Along the dykes, one can observe birds on either side: in the water as well as on the land, providing an ecotone to study bird diversity.
The Zoology Department of Bodoland University offers Wildlife Ecology as one of the specializations during the fourth as well as the last semester, where the students have to carry out massive fieldwork as their practical classes as per the syllabus. This trip to the wetland was also such a field activity, where students performed behaviour study of aquatic birds by focal sampling and scan sampling method. In the process, they also recorded the bird species.
The students were guided by Prof Hilloljyoti Singha and Dr Kushal Choudhury, Head of the Department, and were assisted by veteran bird specialists Bablu Dey (retired forest range officer), Subhash Chanda, eminent bird specialist, and Dr Nilotpal Saha, Assistant Professor, Commerce College, Kokrajhar. The team recorded 40 species of birds including 15 migratory birds and 25 resident species during an hour-long birdwatching session. It is interesting to note that even in the early part of March, migratory ducks like Gadwall, Red-crested Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, Tufted Duck, and Garganey were recorded. The presence of a pair of Pied Harrier was a good sight. The team also saw Indian spot-billed ducks, which are supposed to breed here.
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