Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 2
On the first day of the year, the Chandigarh Bird Park witnessed the highest-ever footfall on a single day. Situated at Nagar Van, at the rear end of Sukhna Lake, 6,247 persons, excluding children below five years of age, visited the park on January 1.
Debendra Dalai, Chief Conservator of Forest-cum-Chief Wildlife Warden, said as many as 1,137 children and 5,110 adults thronged the park on Sunday. It was the highest-ever number of visitors to the park on a single day this season, he added.
More than five lakh persons visited the park up to December 31 last year, he said.
“The popularity curve of the park is going up. Apart from the regular visitors, schoolchildren are thronging the park on educational trips,” he said, adding other than birds, the park had become a major attraction for nature lovers due to its landscaping and natural environment. “It has become a must-visit destination of Chandigarh,” he said.
The Forests and Wildlife Department will expand and relocate the most popular section of the park — “Winged Wonders” — where visitors can get their pictures clicked with birds.
People will soon be able to see the world’s tallest and second tallest birds at the park. The department plans to bring ostrich, found only in Africa, and emu, the largest bird of Australia, to the Bird Park.
The department has prepared a special enclosure for six birds of the species each. Besides, American ducks will also be kept at the park.
Recently, the department had carried out successful breeding of an exotic pair of black swans, natives of Australia, at the park. So far, 42 chicks of different species, including three of black swan, have born here.
On August 18, 11 newly born budgerigars were released into the main enclosure, while four newborn wood ducks were released into the aquatic aviary of the park on August 12.
Spread over 6.5 acres, the park has 58-ft flying height and nearly 200×150 ft of ground area each for terrestrial and aquatic birds. The facility has two small and two walk-through aviaries. The enclosures have been designed in such a way that the birds, apart from taking a flight and nesting in the natural habitat can stay at the aviary and visitors can walk past these.
Terrestrial plants, ferns, shrubs, bushes, aquatic plants, trees and creepers have been provided suiting to the natural habitats of birds.
The park currently has nearly 550 exotic birds of 48 species. The aviary has separate enclosures for aquatic and terrestrial birds. The enclosures height has been designed keeping in mind the flight of birds.
