Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 21 (ANI): As per the Asian waterbird census, nearly 12,645 birds have been spotted during winter at Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha, officials said on Tuesday.

Of the total, 4,071 were migratory birds, representing 73 different species. The census was conducted by 12 teams and 82 volunteers.

Many bird species were observed at the sanctuary, including Northern pintail, tufted ducks, gadwall, Red-crested pochard, river lapwings, black-bellied tern, river tern, great thick-knee, darter gargarney, Pacific golden plover, spot-billed pied duck harrier, and black-headed ibis, among others.

'Many kinds of bird species were spotted at Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary,' Binod Acharya, DFO and Wildlife Warden of Chandaka, Bhubaneswar, told ANI.

Meanwhile, a three-day dolphin census exercise commenced in Odisha's Chilika Lake following sightings of dolphins at several locations across the lagoon, officials said.

The enumeration drive is being carried out by the Chilika Wildlife Division in coordination with the Chilika Development Office to assess the current population, distribution, and habitat use of dolphins in Asia's largest brackish water lagoon.

'The dolphin census has begun today and will continue for another two days. Two locations have been identified where the dolphin census units will operate: Balugaon and Satapada,' Amlan Nayak, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Chilika Wildlife Division, told ANI.

He added, 'A total of 18 routes have been identified. These routes have already been defined using GPS points by the scientists at the Chilika Development Authority.'

Boats have been deployed for the exercise, with each boat carrying five to six trained members. 'The exercise started at 6 a.m. and is expected to be completed by 12 noon, as some routes are short while others are a bit longer. Last year's census results recorded a total of 174 dolphins, of which 159 were Irrawaddy dolphins, and 15 were humpback dolphins,' Nayak said. (ANI)