Some among the prominent birds, which have been spotted, are great knot, red knot, bar-headed goose, ruddy shelduck and the little stint. Forest officials and bird enthusiasts have spotted them at various places including Atapaka in Kolleru Bird Sanctuary, Nelapattu of Pulicat Lake and Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary near Kakinada.The migratory birds fly enormous distances and arrive in AP towards the end of November and return to their places of origin by February end. They arrive mainly to forage algae, worms and fish in wetlands and some breed as well.Hyderabad-based Deccan Birders is carrying out the bird count with support from AP’s forest department, which is likely to continue till the end of February. Deccan Birders secretary Bhamidipati Srikanth said, “We have already counted nearly 2.3 lakh migratory birds. Additionally, 20,000–30,000 birds may get added to our count till February end.”Some of those involved in the count have expressed concern, as the number of migratory birds is similar to last year. This is despite AP forest authorities repairing the existing bird stands, particularly for pelicans to perch, at Atapaka and Nelapattu. They have also taken up awareness drives to educate people about protecting birds, instead of poaching and killing them for their meat. Further, authorities have set up flex banners warning people about punitive action in case anyone harms or causes trouble for birds. Significantly, poaching of birds that used to be a practice earlier in Coringa sanctuary, has since been curbed.
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