Khurda: Annual bird census in Chilika, the biggest brackish water lake in the country, is slated to be carried out on January 4.
Besides wildlife personnel, several experts of different organisations will be engaged in the mammoth exercise. 21 teams of the forest department to be engaged in the counting exercise in 5 ranges- Chilika, Balugaon, Tangi, Rambha, and Satapada, said Chilika DFO.
Visit of tourists might be affect smooth conduct of the census. The restriction on entry of visitors will be lifted after the counting of birds in the lake.
The winged guests from far off places including Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, remote parts of Russia, Central and Southeast Asia, Ladakh and Himalayas throng the lake every winter for feeding and roosting. they start their homeward journey with the onset of summer.