Bird census begins today at sanctuaries

Over 110 invited bird-lovers are expected to visit the Nalsarovar Birds Sanctuary in Ahmedabad district and Thol Birds Sanctuary in Mehsana as the first field-visit of a tatewide bird census begins Saturday. The last census was conducted in 2008 when 19.31 lakh birds were recorded.

Deputy conservator of forests at Nalsarovar P A Patel,who is looking after the exercise,said the 117-strong team for the two sanctuaries comprises of bird-watchers engaged in various professions — lawyers,doctors and botanists,among others.

The party will start at 4 am on Saturday and count till 8.30 am,then sit for an hour and a half for a tally. The exercise would be repeated on Sunday.

Patel said the census would also take place outside these sanctuaries across the state based on the direct-count system. The final results would be out in about a month’s time.