Rare goose spotted at sanctuary

A happy surprise awaits bird watchers at Thol bird sanctuary. Rarest of the rare bird, the Greater White Fronted Goose was

spotted at the sanctuary situated at the outskirts of city. This is considered a significant development by bird watchers who participated in Ahmedabad Bird Race held in and around city on Sunday. Bharat Jethwa, co-ordinator of the bird watching competition, said, "The team comprising Sunjoy Monga, Dishant Parasharya, Vinod Gajjar, Virag Vyas and I saw the species and also photographed four geese. For all of us, spotting this rare bird was a great experience."

Deputy conservator of forest Thol and Nalsarovar, B Modi, confirmed that he too has received reports of the goose being spotted in Thol. He said, "Many bird watchers have informed me about sighting this rare migratory bird which has never been spotted in the state in past."

Greater White fronted Goose (GWFG) is a migrant bird found in Nunavut to Siberia, across Russia, and in Greenland and has one of the largest ranges of any species of goose in the world in North America.

There is more good news for bird lovers. For the first time, bird watchers have spotted as many as 152 different species of birds in and around the city. A total of 45 teams, each comprising five members, had been to Thol and several places in the city.

Not just in traditional sites favoured by the feathered visitors Kankaria and Sarkhej Roza a lot of bird activity was also noticed in ATIRA and Gujarat University campus. Migratory birds were also found in Indroda park, Sabarmati, Sanand, Bagodara and several parts of Gandhinagar city.

Some migratory birds spotted, include Common Shell Duck, Imperial Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle, White Rumped Vulture, White-Tailed Lapwing, Grey Lag Goose, Bar-headed Goose, Scops Owl, Stepee Eagle, pelicans and huge flocks of common cranes, rosy starlings and flamingos.

Greater White Fronted Goose is medium-sized goose which is gray-brown and has forehead and base of bill white. Size of the bird is around 64 to 81 cm and weight is around 1.95 to 3.3 kg. Wingspan of the bird is around 135 cm.