Bhubaneswar, Feb 2 : A total of 10.5 lakh waterbirds representing 105 different species were sighted during the Fifth Annual Flora & Fauna Survey 2022 in Chilika lake, the largest lake along the east coast of India. This compares favourably with the waterbird census conducted by Chilika Wildlife Division in the first week of January which had reported 10,36,220 birds of 103 species. The Lake is a unique assemblage of marine, brackish and freshwater ecosystems with estuarine characters and is one of the hotspots of biodiversity and shelters a number of endangered species listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species. The lake is an avian grandeur and the wintering ground for more than one million migratory birds and is a Ramsar site. The annual monitoring was done on Tuesday by 28 teams of nearly 120 personnel from Chilika Development Authority (CDA) and Odisha government officials. CDA sources said the Nalabana sanctuary itself reported 2,86,929 individuals representing 75 species. The most common migratory ducks found in Chilika were Northern Pintail, Gadwall and Eurasian Wigeons, each being more than 1.5 Lakhs. The mud flats of Nalabana and other regions of Chilika are now exposed as a result of the significant drop in water level. The Nalabana is habitat to more than 1.2 lakhs of waders or shorebirds such as the Black-tailed Godwit, Little Stint, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, and Lesser Sandplover compared to the census conducted on January 4. More than two thousand Greater Flamingos have been reported from Nalabana, the most beautiful waterbird of Chilika lagoon. However, among other notable sightings, more than a thousand near Threatened Ferruginous Ducks were observed for the first time from the lagoon. In addition, two uncommon species, the Red-necked Stint and the Woolly-necked Stork, were spotted in the marshland of Parikud and Mangalajodi, respectively. CDA sources said the highly productive ecosystem of the lake with its rich fishery resources sustains the livelihood of more than 0.20 million fisher folk who live in and around the Lake. (UNI)