Photograph by Devinder Singh Dhadwal.
The Whooper Swan Cygnus Cygnus is a large bird, considered to be amongst the heaviest of birds, usually found in the Northern Hemisphere. Showing a marked preference for wetlands, the birds only inhabit large bodies of water, of suitable depth for them to swim in, since their legs cannot support their body weight for extended periods of time.
Whooper Swans pair for life, often spending the winter with their cygnets along the shores of wetlands like Pong. The sighting of this pair at Himachal Pradesh's Pong Lake in late January was much rejoiced by India's ornithological and birding community, and they were recorded as the 418th migratory bird species to visit the lakeshore. The reappearance of the western bird in the Pong Lake after such a long gap showed that the man-made lake on the Beas is a fast-growing favourite among migratory birds - an encouraging sign for Indian conservation efforts.
The swans were discovered, and continued to be sighted, over a three day-long annual waterfowl census conducted by experts along with the State Forest Department officials in the region. 1.23 lakh waterfowls of 113 species were recorded at this 314 sq. km. Ramsar site this year, along with the swans and another new visitor to the area — the Ruddy Breasted Crake.
For more information on the Pong Lake Bird Sanctuary see: http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/magazines/features/191-features/9198-the-pong-dam-lake-a-birding-paradise.html
Source: Sanctuary Asia.
