Berhampur University’s sprawling Bhanja Vihar campus in Odisha’s Ganjam district serves as a base for hosting many winged guests with the onset of winter.
As most students are unaware that the campus is also a bird’s paradise, the university’s Department of Environmental Studies on Saturday organized its first bird walk on the campus, about 180 km from state capital Bhubaneswar. Salim Ali, The Bird Man of India.
Around 50 participants, including university students, researchers and faculty members, walked a distance of four kilometers around the campus for about four hours to record the winged guests inside the campus.
University Vice Chancellor Geetanjali Dash inaugurated the bird walk in the presence of Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Amlan Nayak.
The university campus is rich in flora and fauna. It has also hosted several migratory birds, which have settled here after flying thousands of kilometres, the VC said, adding that it is everyone’s responsibility to protect its rich biodiversity.
As waterfowl used to fly into the campus during winters, the VC said the university would develop its existing small water bodies to host the winged guests.
B Anjan Kumar Prusty, Head of the Department of Environmental Studies, said that the main objective of the bird walk was to discover birds, discover birds and enjoy nature, as well as create awareness among students about different birds.
Over 100 different species of birds were sighted in the campus throughout the year, we have recorded 39 species, including six migratory species during the bird period, he said.
Common species found during the tour include domestic crow, black kite, common myna, rock pigeon, red-vented bulbul, white-throated kingfisher, Indian gray hornbill etc. He said that a photo exhibition was also organized in the department. Where photographs of various birds seen in different seasons in the campus were displayed on the occasion. The photo exhibition was inaugurated by DFO Berhampur.
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