The status of waterbird populations of Chhaya Rann Wetland Complex in Porbandar, Gujarat, India

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken to study the diversity of wetland birds in Chhaya Rann (Gujarati: Deserted land) wetland complex, situated in the urban setting of Porbandar City, in the western state of Gujarat, India. Almost 70 species belonging to 21 families of wetland birds have been reported from here with an estimated count of 35,747 and 20,981 in the year 2016 and 2015 respectively. Anatidae and Scolopacidae represent the higher number of species (11 each) followed by Ardeidae (eight species) and Laridae (seven species). The wetland complex supports one IUCN Red Listed Vulnerable species (Common Pochard Aythya ferina), six Near Threatened species (Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor, Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster, Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus, Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa and River Tern Sterna aurantia), and 63 Least Concern species. The wetland meets the Criteria 5 and 6 for listing as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Bird Diversity of Jagdishpur Jheel: An Unprotected Wetland in Ayodhya District, Uttar Pradesh

“…A total of 78 bird species belonging to 61 genera, distributed among 33 families and 13 orders were recorded from Jagdishpur Jheel during the study period (Table 1). This is higher than the bird species recorded at Chhaya Rann wetland, Gujarat (70 species) (Vargiya and Chakraborty 2019) and Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary, Haryana (57 species) (Kumar and Gupta 2013), but lower than the bird species recorded at Suraha Tal lake, Uttar Pradesh (91 species) (Srivastava and Srivastava 2012) and Khaparwas Bird Sanctuary, Haryana (164 species) (Gupta et al 2012). Passeriformes had the highest diversity with 20 species and 11 families, followed by Charadriiformes with 18 species and…”

“…Nearly 310 wetland dependent bird species are reported from India (Kumar et al 2005). Birds which are totally dependent on the wetlands for the development of their behavioral and physiological characters are known as waterbirds (Vargiya and Chakraborty 2019). The other bird groups which are ecologically dependent on wetlands are known as wetland dependent and associated birds (Kumar et al 2005).…”