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Following is an excerpt from a report in the Pioneer.

… with reports of flocking of a huge number of flamingoes from the Far East and South Asian countries including Iran, Pakistan and Bangladesh to the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary in the Chilika lake pouring in. There are also speculations that the birds, in due course of time, may make the sanctuary their permanent home.

Nalabana Bird Sanctuary, which falls under the Chilika lagoon, is situated some 100 km away from Bhubaneswar. While 40 per cent of the visiting birds have already left Chilika with the onset of summer, flamingoes and pelicans are yet to start on their journey, informed Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Abhimanyu Behera. Around 1,680 flamingoes were counted this year during the annual bird survey, conducted on January 5. Their number increased to 2,600 by the end of February. Almost all of them had gathered in the 16.59 sq km Nalabana sanctuary, Behera said. In the last two years, hundreds of flamingoes have chosen to stay back in Chilika instead of returning home, he said. "The flamingoes which preferred to stay back in Chilika, go to Kutch in Gujarat during the rains for breeding before returning to the lake," he said.

Nandankanan Zoological garden has many birds in enclosed aviaries. But besides that, the nearby lakes and water bodies and the forest like environment also attracts large number of free birds and many nest in those areas. Tathya has a nice article and couple of nice pictures on it. Following is Samjaja’s take on it, which Samaja attributes to Tathya.

ZeeNews also has a report on this. Following is an excerpt.

Visitors are happy watching storks, herons and grey cranes and many other species that have added to every one’s joy.

Ajit Kumar Patnaik, Director, Nandankanan zoo, said “Storks, herons and others birds have migrated to Nandankanan Zoo for nesting. But ninety per cent of them are open billed storks, locally called “Gendallia”.

Hindustan Times has a report on this. Following are some excerpts.

All 2,000 residents of Gop village in Kendrapada district, some 150 km from Bhubaneswar, in eastern India have been protecting the birds that fly in to nest from July to October. This has been going on for five years.

“Earlier, their eggs would be stolen and children would stone the birds for fun. Even locals ate some of them. Now the villagers are protecting them, seeing them as assets,” Mahendra Dash, a farmer, told IANS.

“We are protecting them because we have realised that the birds add colour to our hectic lives and make our village a rare place in the state.

“Every year we form a bird protection committee. It takes care of the birds,” he said.

“If anybody knowingly or unknowingly kills a bird or damages the nests or eggs, we summon him and impose a fine on him,” said another villager, Premanada Pradhan.

Officials are full of praise for the villagers.

“About 5,000 birds have landed on the three banyan trees in the village near the national highway for nesting this season,” said divisional forest officer Ajaya Kumar Jena. “They started their nesting activities in the last week of July.

“I recently visited the village. I was happy to see the care the villagers are taking to protect the birds.

“Watching these birds make and mend nests, collect green branches for building and repairing the nests, lay, incubate, hatch eggs, feed fledglings, guard them from predators, cover them with outspread wings to protect them from scorching sunrays and heavy downpour is a sight to behold,” Jena added.

According to him, thousands of egrets, herons, storks, cormorants, darters, spoonbills and ibises are now breeding on the trees in the village and nearby areas.

Not an inch of space is available on the trees. “Any fresh bird trying to nest has to wait,” one villager said.

Following is Dharitri’s report on this.

Samaja has the following story on this.