Birders unable to trace black-necked stork after 48 hrs
NEW DELHI: A black-necked stork spotted at the Basai wetlands near Gurugram with a plastic bottle’s cap stuck around its beak couldn’t be traced even after a 48-hour search. The bird was unable to feed or drink. Experts say time is running out and if it is not rescued at the earliest, it could die of dehydration.
Two teams comprising eight experienced birders from Delhi and its satellite towns searched the wetlands of Basai and Najafgarh throughout Saturday. But it was nowhere to be found.
“Its chances of survival are getting less with every day. The bird was photographed for the first time on Thursday evening. It was last seen on Friday morning before it flew towards Najafgarh. The plastic cap was so badly stuck that it couldn’t open its bill to feed or drink. If it is not rescued and the plastic cap not removed at the earliest, it would die of dehydration,” said Pankaj Gupta, a birder from the Delhi Bird Foundation, who is coordinating the search operation.
Saturday’s search operation had to be called off prematurely because of the dust storm. A team would visit Basai and Najafgarh again on Sunday. The entire birder community of Delhi and NCR has been alerted.
Initially birders thought of tranquilising it but the idea was dropped on the advice of veterinary doctors. The only option is to catch it with a net. The birders have got in touch with the Wildlife Trust of India.
“We would have to wait for the bird to get weak so that we can go near and capture it with a net. But if it gets too weak, it would die of dehydration. Dogs and other animals might attack it if it can’t fly,” said Abhishek Gulshan, a conservationist who was a part of the search operation on Saturday.
Birders said tonnes of plastic bottles are dumped next to the Basai wetland, a haven for birds.
“It is not just one bird. If the onslaught on Basai continues, then there would be more such victims,” said Gulshan.