The Forest department was cheered, literally, by enthusiastic bird watchers on Saturday for organising the first-ever Bird Walk Festival in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district. The cheering was received by none other than Telangana Head of Forest Force — Principal Chief Conservator of Forest R. Shobha — who was present along with Adilabad Chief Conservation of Forest C.P. Vinod Kumar and District Forest Officer Laxman Ranjeet Naik, among others, for the inaugural at Eluru cheruvu in Penchikalpet.
It was like opening access to the pristine parts of the district to nature lovers, most of whom were seasoned birders and from the State’s capital city of Hyderabad. Among the youngsters was a group of third year students from the Forest College and Research Institute, Mulugu who were happy to be in the field.
A senior enthusiast was Secunderabad-based doctor G. Pratap and two other birdwatchers who got to discover fresh pug marks of a male and female tiger near Agarguda village. The finding buttresses the contention that Kagaznagar Division forest are extra rich in biodiversity.
Members of the Deccan Birders, Anjali Yadav and Jayati Mitra from Hyderabad, were among those who expressed happiness on the Forest Department hosting. “We sighted 50 different species of birds in about four hours of time which is actually a good number considering the loss of forest in the past,” they added.
The birdwatchers were moving about in groups, clicking pictures and videos of birds and sharing it with the Department. The PCCF too sent about an hour at the Eluru cheruvu tank spotting the avians.
