Number of Baya weavers rises to 11,676 in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Good news for bird lovers as the number of Baya weavers best known for the elaborately woven nests has increased to 11,676 in Odisha.

According to latest Baya weaver also called weaverbird census carried out by the Wild Odisha, a voluntary organisation, on behalf of the Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN), total 11,676 Baya weavers of three subspecies were identified in the State this year.

The weaverbird census was conducted in 10 districts — Khordha, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal and Puri — in June.

The volunteers of the organisation engaged in counting of the Baya weavers, had identified 852 nests made by the birds.

The counting was conducted taking three subspecies of Baya weavers into account, said IBCN Odisha Chapter Coordinator Monalisa Bhujabal.

While 3,376 common weaverbirds were identified during the process, the volunteers found 7,200 weaverbirds of streaked weaver species and 1,100 Black-breasted weavers in 10 districts.

The census was conducted by the volunteers under supervision of wildlife conservators Nanda Kishore Bal and Sulabh Sethy.

As the number of palm trees is declining in the State, weaving nests has become a major issue for the Baya weavers, said Sulabh Sethy.

Similarly, the Baya weaver nests are also affected near Chilika lake, he said.

Although, the Baya weaver nests dropped in urban areas, the beautiful woven nests constructed by the birds are found in rural and remote areas of the State, he added.

The Baya weaver census report will be submitted to Odisha government, Centre, Bombay Natural History Society and BirdLife International, Monalisa said.

Earlier, the organisation had identified 9,000 weaver birds across Odisha in 2016 census.

Hence, Odisha witnessed a significant increase in the number of weaverbirds during the years.