COIMBATORE: A total of 332 bird species were spotted until Friday across the state during the Pongal Bird Count, organised by Tamil Birders Network. The number has been listed on the e-Bird online platform. Sources said number will be go up, as many birders will be adding their sightings in the coming days.
Sharing his experience, Surendhar Boopalan, a government school teacher and coordinator of Pondicherry Birders Network, said he, along with three of his team members, had covered 52 lakes in Puducherry, Villuppuram, and Cuddalore and en route to the lakes for four days, starting January 14, recording 129 species of birds.
“The number of birds is lower during this year, for the people are dumping waste in lakes unaware of the presence of domestic and migratory birds. We have spotted many duck species, like Northern Pintail and Northern Shovelers, in the lakes. This may be because there is more water in the lakes, thanks to the monsoon,” he said, adding the number of Eurasian spoonbill birds visiting the area is on the decline, as he said he had spotted the bird species only in one area.
