Winged guests arrive in Majuli :

 (News from The Times of India e-paper) 

  Thousands of migratory birds from other parts of the country and abroad have started migrating to the wetlands of Majuli in the past few days with the onset of winters. These birds generally come from Ladakh, Tibet, Nepal, Europe, north and central Asia, Kashmir and China.

According to environmentalists, the winged guests regularly visit Majuli during winters due to its cool climate and fresh water of the island.

"The birds fly thousands of kilometers to reach the river island every year, which besides its cool climate and fresh water, offers abundant wild plants, vegetables, fishes and insects to feed on," an environmentalist said.

Another environmentalist Tilok Chandra Sharma, who is working for bird conservation in the island for the last 25 years, said migratory birds arrive in Majuli in the first week of November. "Several birds species like white wagtail and ferruginous from Kashmir and west Pakistan, brown shrike, grey shrike, osprey and common sandpiper from the Himalayas, great cormorant from China and some other parts of the country, mallard from Europe and northern Asia and gadwall from northern Europe have already arrived at the island," he said.

"All these birds have been seen in the island. The birds were seen in Sakuli beel and Komalabari Borhola. The two wetlands are also full of whistling ducks and other water fowls now," Sharma said.

He added that the number of migratory birds in Majuli is increasing every year. Over 80 bird species come to Majuli every year. Sakuli beel is the main hub of these birds. "Over 50,000 winged creatures start to arrive in Majuli from October every year," he said.

Another environmentalist from Jorhat said over 156 small and big wetlands make up the sand island of Majuli. The Rawanapar pond is a historic man-made wetland and the Owdubi beel, which is preserved by the Assam Science Society, is used for tortoise conservation and is home to a large number of amphibian species.

-Abakash Majuli