Not only humans, deadly storm affected birds too

While the recent storm in Rajasthan resulted in the loss of human life and damage to property, the winds have played havoc on the lives of birds at the world-renowned Keoladeo National park. Several trees have been uprooted resulting in the destruction of scores of nests of resident bird species. Moreover, even ground dwellers have faced the brunt as reports of chicks being flown away in the storm has reached the forest officials.

The storm covered many parts of the Bharatpur district and caused disruption in normal life. While several houses in the rural areas were damaged, the nests of birds in Keoladeo were literally thrown to the ground due to the strong winds. “During the patrolling after the storm, we found that several nests with eggs or hatchlings were on the ground. Moreover, several nests were missing from their location as well and we suspect that they have been carried away by strong winds,” officials said.

Moreover, even the ground-dwelling species also had the worst of the time. “Our staff had identified various places where the ground-dwelling birds had made nests or laid eggs. We keep an observation on these nests also which is a practice with our staff. However, after the storm, most of the eggs were found missing. It is believed that they have got damaged in the storm. A few eggs were found broken as well,” officials said.

Though the damage has not been assessed, the department officials claim that the toll would have been higher is the storm had hit a month back. “There were migratory birds till April in the park. If similar climatic conditions would have happened then, there would have been a huge loss in the bird life of the park. However, the timing had an advantage as well. Most of the dykes here do not have water as it has evaporated and thus there are wide open spaces devoid of trees. The adult birds have been seen in these areas since the storm which suggests that the loss of life of adult birds is not a major one,” officials said.