Berhampur (Orissa): Winged guests from far off places have started arriving at the world famous Chilika lake in Orissa, a fortnight or so after their usual arrival time.
Divisional forest officer of Chilika wildlife division B P Acharya said the first batch of the migratory birds had been seen wandering in the lake in the Nalabana bird sanctuary last Monday.
``Since a number of birds take shelter in the periphery of the lake, we think they will swoop down on the lake very soon,`` said another wildlife officer.
Their arrival was, however, delayed by about a fortnight compared to the previous years, the high water level in the blue lagoon of the Nalabana being the reason, the DFO said.
Former wildlife warden S K Patnaik said the erratic weather condition and delay in the onset of winter in the state might be the cause of their delayed arrival.
The birds generally migrate to other places when they face scarcity of food and heavy snowfall in their habitats and in the present case those reasons could vey well apply, a retired senior forest officer Sudhakar Mohapatra said.
The delay, wildlife scientist Sudhakar Kar explained, could also be because of the stopovers they had to make on way to Chilika on account of bad weather.
PTI
