Kolkata:Photographers are making a beeline on the IIT Kharagpur campus not to click photos of students bagging jobs during placement season but to capture photos of migratory birds.For the birders flocking to IIT, the star attraction is a large flock of the rarely-sighted and vulnerable Pale-capped pigeons, also known as Purple wood pigeons, which arrived this Jan. Over 175 birders from across the state, and outside, went to the institute to click the birds. Pale-capped pigeons are usually found in north-eastern India, northern Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The first sighting of a Pale-capped pigeon was a solitary bird in Uttarpara-Konnagar in 2016. Gargi Biswas, who lives on the campus, was the first to spot five to six Pale-capped pigeons on the campus in Jan 2021. “The number went up to 15 the next year. Thereafter, four to five birds were being sighted each year. But this year, the number has shot up to over 75,” recounted Biswas, who has been recording the birds for the past six seasons. “There are four pigeons on the trees next to a water body near the Nalanda complex that is drawing birders from near and far,” said local birder Paresh Das, a former employee in the office of the CAG.
Over the past week, many students and teachers also trekked to the site to catch a glimpse of the migratory guests. The students discovered a flock of brown and chestnut-coloured pigeons with a sheen of green or amethyst. IAF veteran and avid bird photographer Avijit Das, who went with his friend Dibyendu Paul to Bangriposi first, spotted four birds at IIT Kharagpur later. Birdwatchers’ Society member Kanad Baidya says there is insufficient data on Pale-capped pigeons, according to the State of India’s Birds Report 2023. The Pale-capped pigeons are on the high conservation priority list as per Wildlife Protection Act.Sudip Ghosh, who popularised Rabindra Sarobar as a birding spot, said it was heartening to see a new birding spot emerge.
