Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary

Last updated

Kanwar Taal Bird Sanctuary
Kanwar Taal
Kanwar Lake Begusarai by Ziddi Photowala.jpg
India relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location Begusarai district, Bihar, India
Nearest city Begusarai
Coordinates 25°36′36″N86°08′24″E / 25.61000°N 86.14000°E / 25.61000; 86.14000
Area67.5 km2
Elevation41 m above sea level
Established1987
Governing body Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India
Official nameKabartal Wetland
Designated21 July 2020
Reference no.2436 [1]

The Kanwar Taal or Kabar Taal Lake or Kabartal Wetland [2] located in Begusarai district of Bihar, India, is Asia's largest freshwater oxbow lake. [3] It is approximately six times [4] the size of the Bharatpur Sanctuary. In November 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) declared it the first Ramsar site in Bihar. [5] There are a total of 80 Ramsar Sites in India till 2024.
Kanwar jheel, as it is locally called, is located 22 km north-west of Begusarai Town in Manjhaul. It is a residual oxbow lake, formed due to meandering of Burhi Gandak [6] river, a tributary of Ganga, in the geological past. [7] It covers 2,620 hectares of the Indo-Gangetic plains in the northern Bihar State. The Site is one of 18 wetlands within an extensive floodplain complex; it floods during the monsoon season to a depth of 1.5 metres. This absorption of floodwaters is a vital service in Bihar State where 70% of the land is vulnerable to inundation. During the dry season, areas of marshland dry out and are used for agriculture. Significant biodiversity is present, with 165 plant species and 394 animal species recorded, including 221 bird species. The Wetland is an important stopover along the Central Asian Flyway, with 58 migratory waterbirds using it to rest and refuel. It is also a valuable site for fish biodiversity with over 50 species documented. Five critically endangered species inhabit the site, including three vultures – the red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) – and two waterbirds, the sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius) and Baer’s pochard (Aythya baeri). Major threats to the Site include water management activities such as drainage, water abstraction, damming and canalization. [8]

Contents

Ornithologist Salim Ali, mentioned about 60 migratory birds that come all the way from Central Asia in winter and recorded around 106 species of resident birds. [9] [10] Since 2020 the lake has been designated as a protected Ramsar site. [1]

The nearest railway station is Begusarai Station; the nearest bus stop is Jaimanglagadh; and the nearest airport is Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna.

Trees

Mangiferaindica, Annona squamosa, Polyalthia longifolia, Borassus flabellifer, Cocosnucifera, Phoenix sylvestris, Haplophragma adenophyllum, Bombax ceiba, Ceiba pentandra, Cordia dichotoma, Ehretia laevis, Bauhinia variegata, Cassia fistula, Delonix regia, Peltophorum pterocarpum, Tamarindus indica, Trema oriental, Terminalia arjuna, Diospyros Montana, Croton roxburghii, Trevia nudiflora, Dalbergia sissoo, Leucaena leucocephala, Pongamia glabra, Phoebe lanceolata, Azadirachta indica, Melia azedarach, Swietenia macrophylla, Acacia catechu, Acacia nilotica, Albizia lebbeck, Pithecellobium dulce, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Artocarpus lacucha, Ficus benghalensis, Ficus hispida, Ficus racemosa, Ficus religiosa, Ficus virens, Streblus asper, Moringa oleifera, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Psidium guajava, Syzygium cumini, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Phyllanthus emblica, Bambusa bambos, Dendrocalamus strictus, Ziziphus mauritiana, Anthocephalus kadamba, Aegle marmelos, Citrus maxima, Madhuca indica, Tectona grandis

Threats

Birds in the region

Critically endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near threatened

Images

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-rumped vulture</span> Species of bird

The white-rumped vulture is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures die of kidney failure caused by diclofenac poisoning. In the 1980s, the global population was estimated at several million individuals, and it was thought to be "the most abundant large bird of prey in the world". As of 2021, the global population was estimated at less than 6,000 mature individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian vulture</span> Species of vulture

The Indian vulture or long-billed vulture is a bird of prey native to the Indian subcontinent. It is an Old World vulture belonging to the family of Accipitridae. It is a medium-sized vulture with a small, semi-bald head with little feathers, long beak, and wide dark colored wings. It breeds mainly on small cliffs and hilly crags in central and peninsular India.

<i>Gyps</i> Genus of birds

Gyps is a genus of Old World vultures that was proposed by Marie Jules César Savigny in 1809. Its members are sometimes known as griffon vultures. Gyps vultures have a slim head, a long slender neck with downy feathers, and a ruff around the neck formed by long buoyant feathers. The crown of their big beaks is a little compressed, and their big dark nostrils are set transverse to the beak. They have six or seven wing feathers, of which the first is the shortest and the fourth the longest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Ghats</span> Mountain range along the eastern coast of India

The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through the states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu by, passing parts of Karnataka and Telangana on the way. They are eroded and cut through by four major rivers of peninsular India, the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri. Zindagad Konda is the highest point in both Andhra Pradesh and the Eastern Ghats at 1,690 metres (5,540 ft). The Biligiriranga Hills in Karnataka are the tallest hill range in the Eastern Ghats, with many peaks above 1500 m in height.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keoladeo National Park</span> Bird sanctuary in Rajasthan, India

Keoladeo National Park, or Keoladeo Ghana National Park, is a world-famous avifauna and wildlife sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. The park hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds, especially during the winter season, when many different species fly to the Indian Subcontinent to escape winter's wrath further north in Eurasia. With at least 400 avian species having been noted or observed within, Keoladeo is a major tourism hub and Indian nature travel destination, both domestically and internationally. The wealth of species lures many amateur and professional birdwatchers and wildlife photographers, as well as scores of ornithologists during the hibernal season, who come to observe the migratory flocks' health, numbers and interactions with the local ecosystems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Begusarai district</span> District of Bihar in India

Begusarai District is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The city of Begusarai is its administrative headquarters and is part of the Munger division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indawgyi Lake</span> Lake in Myanmar

Indawgyi Lake is one of the largest inland lakes in Southeast Asia. It is located in Mohnyin Township in the Kachin State of Myanmar. The lake measures 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) east to west, and 24 kilometres (15 mi) north to south. There are over 20 villages around the lake. The predominant ethnic groups living in the surroundings of the lake are the Shan and the Kachin, who mainly practise agriculture. The lake is 546 feet (166 m) above sea level and is the main feature of the Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Kuş</span> Lake in Turkey

Lake Kuş or Lake Manyas is a lake in western Turkey, located in the Bandırma region. It is a shallow nutrient-rich freshwater lake fed by groundwater and four streams. Small deltas have formed where the latter enter the lake, comprising extensive marshes and tree-lined riverbanks. Narrow belts of reed Phragmites fringe much of the lake. Water is abstracted for factory use and for irrigation. Cattle and sheep grazing are common along the lake shores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harike Wetland</span> Largest wetland in northern India

Harike Wetland also known as "Hari-ke-Pattan", with the Harike Lake in the deeper part of it, is the largest wetland in northern India in the border of Tarn Taran Sahib district and Ferozepur district of the Punjab state in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ropar Wetland</span> Artificial or man-made lake

Ropar Wetland, also named Ropar Lake, is a man-made freshwater riverine and lacustrine wetland. The area has at least 9 mammal, 154 bird, 35 fish, 9 arthropod, 11 rotifer, 9 crustacean and 10 protozoan species, making it biologically diverse. This important ecological zone is located in the Shivalik foothills of the Lower Himalayas and was created in 1952 on the Sutlej River, in the Punjab state of India, by building a head regulator to store and divert water for beneficial uses of irrigation, drinking and industrial water supply. The endangered turtle Chitra indica and the threatened snake Python molurus, as per IUCN Red List, are reported to be resident in the wetland. Considering the wetland's diverse and rich biodiversity, Ramsar Convention has included Ropar Wetland as one of the Ramsar sites among the 42 sites listed under India, for "the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the ecological and hydrological functions they perform."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shuklaphanta National Park</span>

Shuklaphanta National Park is a national park in the Terai of the Far-Western Region, Nepal, covering 305 km2 (118 sq mi) of open grasslands, forests, riverbeds and wetlands at an elevation of 174 to 1,386 m. It is bounded by the Mahakali river in the west and south. A small part extends north of the Mahendra Highway to create a wildlife corridor for seasonal migration of wildlife into the Sivalik Hills. It was gazetted in 1976 as Royal Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve and was enlarged to its present size in the late 1980s. A buffer zone of 243.5 km2 (94.0 sq mi) was added in 2004. It receives a mean annual rainfall of 1,579 mm (62.2 in) and harbours 700 floral, 456 bird, 56 reptile and 15 amphibian species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagdishpur Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Kapilvastu District, Nepal

The Jagdishpur Reservoir is a reservoir in Jahadi Village Development Committee, Kapilvastu District, Nepal which was named after Er. Jagadish Jha who designed and supervised the construction of Banaganga dam. With a surface area of 225 ha (2.25 km2), it is the largest reservoir in the country and an important wetland site. It is situated at an altitude of 197 m (646 ft). The maximum water depth varies between 2 m (6.6 ft) in the dry season and 7 m (23 ft) in the monsoon season.

The wildlife of the Lahore District of Pakistan includes a diverse range of natural and cultivated flora and fauna. The introduced flora of the city of Lahore comes from its cultural heritage as the regional capital of various Indian kingdoms from the 11th century to the early 20th century. Much of the Indian flora was introduced during the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal emperor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thol Lake</span> Lake in India

Thol Lake is an artificial lake near Thol village in Kadi in Mehsana District in the Indian state of Gujarat. A fresh water lake surrounded by marshes, it was built as an irrigation tank in 1912. Declared the Thol Bird Sanctuary in 1988, it is a habitat to 150 species of birds, about 60% of them waterbirds. Many migratory birds nest and breed in the lake and its periphery. The two most prominent species of birds recorded in the sanctuary are flamingoes and sarus crane. The sanctuary is also proposed to be declared an Eco-Sensitive Zone, conforming to the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for which draft notification has been prepared.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian vulture crisis</span> Ecological crisis in Indian subcontinent

Nine species of vulture can be found living in India, but most are now in danger of extinction after a rapid and major population collapse in recent decades. In the early 1980s, three species of Gyps vultures had a combined estimated population of 40 million in South Asia, while in 2017 the total population numbered only 19,000.

Meghaul is a panchayat village of Khodabandpur taluk, Begusarai district, in the Indian state of Bihar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mai Pokhari</span>

Mai Pokhari is a wetland in Ilam District of Nepal that was designated a Ramsar site on 28 October 2008. It is a pilgrimage center for both Hindus and Buddhists. The lake within the wetland which reflects emerald waters has a circumference of about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) and boats are operated. On the periphery of the lake there is the Maipokhari Botanical Garden of horticultural and ecological importance which houses a rock garden, an orchid house, plants collected from many regions of eastern Nepal, and a green house.

Manjhaul is a village in the Begusarai district of Bihar state in India. It is notable for the Jaimangla Garh temple and Kaber Lake.

Lashari wala Forest is forest located near Taunsa Barrage, a Ramsar site in Punjab Pakistan. Taunsa Ramsar site is among 19 Ramsar sites in Pakistan. Taunsa Barrage was designated a Ramsar site on 22 March 1996. The western brink of Head Taunsa Barrage stretches around 5,000-km in Kot Adu Muzaffargarh District of South Punjab, Pakistan, about 90 km from Multan and 10 km from Kot Adu.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kabartal Wetland". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  2. "Kabartal Wetland | Ramsar Sites Information Service".
  3. "Kanwar lake: birds' paradise lost". www.downtoearth.org.in. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  4. Kanwar lake: birds' paradise lost https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/kanwar-lake-birds-paradise-lost-44693
  5. "Kabartal becomes Bihar's first Ramsar site". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  6. "Ramsar Information Sheet" (PDF).
  7. "Kanwar Jheel: An Integrated Management Action Plan for Conservation and Wise Use: Official Ramsar Site Document" (PDF).
  8. Ramsar convention |url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2436
  9. "Saviour Alluvial Ecological Establishment Society(Saee Society)Working on Kabar Taal and Lord Buddha". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  10. http://www.ibcn.in/IBA_Book_PDF/16%20(322_341)%20Bihar.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]