Birdwatchers curious as greylag geese come to Gujarat’s Khijadia in ‘unprecedented’ numbers for wintering

Birdwatchers who participated in the bird census estimated the greylag geese numbers to be between 4,000 to 5,000. “Their numbers are easily around 4,000 to 5,000, a figure not heard of in Jamnagar ever,” Jagat Raval, a birdwatcher and wildlife photographer of Jamnagar who has been birdwatching in Khijadia for more than two decades, said.

Vishwas Thakker, another birdwatcher from Jamnagar, also agreed with Raval. “We have never seen greylag geese in such huge numbers in Khijadia ever. Something seems to have happened which drew these birds to Jamnagar,” said Thakker, adding, “Even some bar-headed geese have been spotted in the Kalavad area of Jamnagar.”

Greylag geese breed in Europe and central Asia and Asian populations winter in India, Pakistan, Iran, and Bangladesh among other countries. “In Gujarat, the greylag geese’s range and their numbers seems to have increased over the past two decades. Till around two decades ago, they were more common in wetlands of the north Gujarat region during winters. But now, they have become a fairly common sight in wetlands like Nal Sarovar, Thol, and Wadhwana in central Gujarat and many parts of Saurashtra region,” Uday Vora, a retired Indian Forest Service officer and a prominent birdwatcher of Gujarat, said.

Shatrushalyasinh Jadeja, the patriarch of the royal family of the erstwhile princely state of Nawanagar (Jamnagar), suggested that this phenomenon should be studied. “Greylag geese are not known to migrate to Jamnagar district. Only very rarely have four or five been sighted in our area. However, we are now witnessing several thousand greylag geese wintering at Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary. What is this sudden unprecedented appearance of such a large number? Is it due to some artificial interference or disturbance in their normal wintering grounds or are they deprived of their main food in their wintering grounds or is it due to climate change? Somebody should do scientific research to determine this astonishing event,” Jadeja said in a release.

Daxa Vaghasiya, range forest officer (RFO) of Khijadia Bird Sanctuary, said that greylag geese started visiting Khijadia regularly from 2016-17 onwards. “We saw around 50 greylag geese in 2016-17 and their numbers kept on increasing every year. However, the highest ever before this winter was 500. This year, their numbers have risen dramatically,” she said, adding, “Maybe, the conditions in Khijadia are ideal for these birds to winter here this year.”

The RFO said that thanks to a good monsoon, there is enough water in the freshwater part of the sanctuary providing geese food and space for roosting.

Incidentally, Khijadia was designated as a Ramsar site in 2022. Gujarat has three other designated wetlands of international importance—Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary Thol Wildlife Sanctuary in the Ahmedabad district and Wadhwana Wetland in the Vadodara district. “It is a matter of pride for us that Khijadia has been attracting international migratory birds in such big numbers,” DCF Parsana said.