Kakinada’s Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary to hold a 2-days Birds festival

The Forest Department is organizing a two-day bird festival on 14 and 15 December at Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWLS), Kakinada. Coringa Birds Festival 2018, the first of its kind in Andhra Pradesh, is expected to be packed with a number of fun activities including Birdwatching, Bird portrait and model making, quizzes, documentary shows, and puppetry shows.

The festival will also provide an opportunity to watch rare birds from close quarters and know more about various species and different flyways. People from all walks of life, including children, nature lovers, and senior citizens are expected to attend the event.

The Indian Skimmer, a vulnerable yet key species of avifauna, is selected as the official mascot of the festival.

The festival is being conducted to raise awareness on the conservation of biodiversity in the region along with the protection of endangered species of birds and their habitats.

“The Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the EGREE (East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem) Region, which is notable as a constituent of the Central Asian Flyway. The area has a rich and diverse bird population. For example, of the 84 species of waders reported from India, 51 are found in the EGREE (East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem) region. Egrets and storks are the major groups of birds that form 15-20% of the total bird population here,” Anant Shankar, Divisional Forest Officer, told The Hindu.

Highlights of the festival are sessions by renowned wildlife photographer, filmmaker, and conservationist Kalyan Varma and cartoonist Rohan Chakravathi.