Vadodara: There is good news for bird lovers in the city. A scavenger is rarely seen in this area near Timby Lake on the outskirts of the city. A group of bird lovers has photographed an Egyptian vulture next to a lake located about 10 km from the city. This species of vulture has been seen in Timbi Lake after about 30 years.
“We had gone out on December 19 to see the migratory birds on the lake. After walking for about two hours we were resting at the back of the lake when we saw a dark colored bird above us. It landed at a distance and we thought maybe it was an obstacle,” said Tanisha Dagur, one of the bird watchers, who spotted the vulture along with Dhaval Devalia, Aniket Soni and Vivek Naria.
“But when we looked closely with binoculars, we were surprised. It was the Egyptian vulture. Our entire group was excited because this bird has not been seen in and around Vadodara for many decades,” said a zoology student at MS University Dagur told TOI.
“It is possible that the bird is exploring new places in this area. Or maybe it was resting for a while before migrating further,” he added. According to the Environment Information Center (ENVIS Center) of the Gujarat Ecology Commission, in 2016, Gujarat was home to over 133 Egyptian vultures and their main populations were concentrated in Banaskantha and Ahmedabad district.
“The vulture population has declined drastically and these scavengers are rarely seen in and around Vadodara. Seeing an Egyptian vulture here is a good sign as this bird usually prefers to stay in places where it can get food for scavenging,” said Raju Vyas, who studied vultures in Vadodara.
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