Tamil Nadu records 7.8 lakh birds, 798 species during synchronised survey
CHENNAI: The state forest department has recorded a healthy number of 7.8 lakh wetland and terrestrial birds spread across 798 diverse species, as per the Synchronised Bird Estimate 2025 report released by Forest Minister RS Raja Kannappan as part of World Biodiversity Day celebrations on Thursday.
The survey was conducted in two phases. Phase 1, held on March 8-9, focused on wetland birds across 934 wetlands in all 38 districts. The survey recorded 397 bird species with a total count of 5,52,349 birds, including 1,13,606 migratory birds from 136 species.
Migratory species such as the greater flamingo, greylag goose, Eurasian curlew, and pied avocet were spotted, indicating Tamil Nadu's role as a critical stopover along the Central Asian Flyway.
Among the resident wetland birds, the most populous included, little egret, little cormorant, Asian openbill, black-headed ibis, and Indian pond heron. The estimate also revealed that nearly 49% of birds were sighted in coastal districts, reflecting the ecological richness of these regions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
21 hours ago
- Indian Express
Thought to be extinct, a rare sighting in Kashmir revives hopes of the Eurasian otter's comeback
For three decades, the Eurasian otter, once an integral part of Kashmir's aquatic ecosystem, was thought to be extinct in the Valley. However, a rare sighting of the semi-aquatic mammal has now been reported in south Kashmir. The otter, which has been globally classified as 'near threatened' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was spotted in the Lidder River in Srigufwara, south Kashmir. While villagers initially thought it was a crocodile, wildlife officials identified it as an Eurasian otter after watching videos captured by the villagers. That was later confirmed through photographic evidence. 'It has been confirmed as Eurasian otter,' Suhail Ahmad Wagar, the Wildlife Warden for south Kashmir, told The Indian Express. 'After it was reported, we set up CCTV surveillance, and we have captured it (on camera) at a few places.' The Eurasian otter, locally known as Vuder, was an integral part of Kashmir's aquatic ecosystem and was abundantly found in the water bodies. Its presence was used to scare the children and keep them away from the water bodies. However, over the last three decades, it was not spotted in the water bodies of the Valley, and it was thought to be extinct in Kashmir. The sudden decline in otters, a carnivorous mammal that feeds on fish and other aquatic fauna, was attributed to increased water pollution and hunting of the mammal for its fur. 'Historical records suggest that Kashmir had a substantial otter population in Dachigam and the stream that fed the Dal lake. It was also commonly seen in Rambiara stream (in south Kashmir) and the Lidder river (in Pahalgam),' Wagay said. 'However, it was not spotted for the last 25-30 years, so we thought it had gone extinct (in Kashmir).' Wildlife officials say that this is the third occasion this year that it has been spotted in the Valley. 'In May, it was first spotted in the Gurez valley,' Wagay said. 'It was also spotted in Heerpora (in south Kashmir's Shopian district).' Wildlife officials say that the sighting of the mammal is encouraging and could help restore Kashmir's aquatic ecology. Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter. ... Read More
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Farmed production of some fish - and seaweed
Asia leads global farmed fish production (Image credit: AFP) The amount of farmed seafood we consume -- as opposed to that taken wild from our waters -- is soaring every year, making aquaculture an ever-more important source for many diets, and a response to overfishing. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, nearly 99 million tonnes of aquatic animals (fish, molluscs like oysters and mussels and crustaceans like prawns) were farmed around the world in 2023, five times more than three decades ago. Since 2022, the farming of aquatic animals has been steadily overtaking fishing around the world -- but with large disparities from species to species. Fast-growing species: by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Windows Users Don't Forget To Do This Before Monday Read More Undo The two biggest sellers on the market in 2023, carp and tilapia, mainly came from freshwater farming, while other widely-consumed fish, like herring, came just from deep sea fishing Thierry Laugier, a researcher at Ifremer, France's national institute for ocean science and technology, told AFP that fish farmers choose species that grow quickly and with simple requirements, to be able to control the life cycle. Sales of the most widely farmed fish in Europe, Atlantic salmon, came to 1.9 million tonnes in 2023, 99 per cent of which were farmed. "We know how to control the ageing or how to launch a reproduction cycle, through injecting hormones," Laugier said. Asia main producer: Asia is by far the biggest producer of farmed fish, accounting for 92 per cent of the 136 million tonnes -- of both animal and plant species -- produced under manmade conditions in 2023. "For carp, it comes down to tradition, it has been farmed for thousands of years on the Asian continent," the Ifremer researcher said. At the other end of the spectrum, sardines and herring are just fished in the oceans, mainly for profitability reasons as some fish grow very slowly. "It takes around two years to get an adult-sized sardine," Laugier said. He said farming of some fish has not yet been started as, "for a long time, we thought the ocean was an inexhaustible resource". Seaweed: Little known in the West, seaweed nevertheless accounts for almost a third of world aquaculture production. Almost exclusively from Asia, seaweed production increased by nearly 200 percent in two decades, to 38 million tonnes. It is mainly used in industry, in jellies, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, the expert said. He said seaweed also has the major advantage of absorbing not just CO2 in the oceans, but also nitrogen and certain pollutants. "And from an ecological point of view it is better to farm macroalgae than salmon," Laugier said.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
MSU professor invited to international museum summit
Vadodara: A professor from MS University has been invited as a speaker for the international museum summit – Eurasian Alliance Initiative in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Professor Ambika Patel, dean of MSU's Faculty of Fine Arts and director of the Maharaja Ranjitsinh Gaekwad Institute of Design (MRID), has been invited to the summit scheduled from June 9 to June 12. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now She will be a panellist on the theme – "Creating Museum Cooperation in the Eurasia Region." "Eurasian region, characterised by remarkable cultural diversity, boasts rich international museum collaborations. This international summit is to explore a sustainable structure to initiate seamless exchange of innovative ideas and resources, promotion of cultural agendas in participating countries contributing significantly to shaping a vibrant cultural landscape across Eurasia," said Patel. She added that museums play a vital role in building relations between countries and cultures. "Across borders, museums and museum professionals interact with one another by making museums platforms for dialogue among people, cultures, and nations," she said.
