Yay! They are finally here!

Birders in Dhanbad went into raptures on Wednesday when the first migratory flock of the season found perch on the town’s Topchanchi Lake. On Thursday, the winged winter guests enhanced the beauty of the picturesque Loco Tank (in picture by Gautam Dey) in Hirapur too.

Dhanbad DFO Satish Rai said while Topchanchi and Maithon lakes were the favourite haunts of black cormorant, black-winged stilt, common teal, brown-headed gull, spoonbill, red-crested pochard and common coot, the Loco Tank too drew many a feathered friend.

“The birds are very late this time. Normally, they come around mid-December and leave by February. The abundance of fish in our water bodies have brought the migratory flock at a time when we had almost given up hope,” Rai said.
Experts say the landmark Maithon Lake in Dhanbad is a big crowd magnet, a reason that may have kept at bay these guests from far-far-away. “Boating fun in Maithon leads to human interference in migratory pattern of birds. Maithon’s loss is thus Topchanchi’s gain,” one of them said.