Rare migratory bird spotted after 113 years in Himachal

Rare migratory bird Whooper Swan has been spotted in Pong Dam lake of Himachal Pradesh's picturesque Kangra valley after a hiatus of 113 years.

"Whooper Swans have been spotted in the Beas river basin of Himachal after a gap of 113 years," said Devinder Singh Dhadwal, an Assistant Conservator of Forests in Dharamsala.

Dhadwal, also an ornithologist, photographed a pair of them at the Pong lake.

Whooper Swans, which come from Central Asia and Europe and are rare migrants to India, were last spotted in the country in 1900 near river Beas by British civil servant E H Aitken, Dhadwal said.
The Whooper Swans were earlier recorded in the notes of A O Hume's book 'Swans of India' in 1878.
Whooper Swan, national bird of Finland and features on the Finnish 1 Euro coin, is one of the heaviest flying birds with an average body weight of 9.811.4 kg for males and 8.29.2 kg for females.
The swans stay in large bodies of water as their legs are unable to support their weight for long periods. They spend much of their time swimming and feeding.
The reappearance of this swan in the Pong Dam lake after such a long gap show that the man-made lake on river Beas is fast growing as a favourite among migratory birds.

418 species of migratory birds have flocked to the Pong Dam lake over the past 10 years.
It was constructed on Beas River in 1960 and was declared a bird sanctuary in 1983.
In 1994, it was given the status of wetland of national importance.
Currently, Pong Dam Lake is on ninth spot in attracting the most number of migratory birds, wildlife officials said.