Bhubaneswar, May 24: Even the cooler climes of Chilika lake appear to have failed to attract birds this summer. Wildlife officials have counted fewer birds this summer in the Asia's largest brackish water lagoon compared to last year.

During the one-day census of summer birds conducted on May 19, officials of the Chilika wildlife division counted 39,731 birds belonging to 107 species.

This is in sharp contrast to the last year's figure of 41,569 avians of 113 species spotted there during last summer.

"This year, it is very hot. The wetland is also comparatively dry. These things could have impacted the birds at Chilika this summer," said Chilika divisional forest officer (DFO) Bikash Ranjan Das.

Around 50 officials belonging to five ranges of Chilika wildlife division were involved in the one-day census exercise.

Though summer birds were counted in the entire 1160 sqkm area of the lake. Most of the birds were spotted at Nalabana, the famous bird sanctuary located in the heart of Chilika, and Mangalajodi, which is also a well-known bird habitat within the lake area.

Das said around 20,000 of the total winged guests counted in the lake on May 19 belonged to various migratory species.

But the number of the birds, especially the migratory birds in Chilika, is much higher during winter.

In the last winter census of Chilika birds in January this year, 100 enumerators counted around 9.47 lakh birds belonging to 167 different species.

The show last winter was more impressive than the figure of 8.58 lakh birds of 161 species during the winter of 2016.

Of the total number of 9,47,119 birds that were counted during the census this January, 3,74,757 were seen at Nalabana.

During the count, a rare migratory bird - the common shelduck - had been sighted at Nalabana.