Diversity and Abundance of Winter Migratory Birds at Shivnala Lake, Tehsil Paoni, District Bhandara (M.S.) India.

Abstract

The present study evaluated the diversity and abundance of winter migratory birds at Shivnala Lake, Paoni Tehsil, Bhandara District, Maharashtra, India, from October 2022 to March 2024. Employing line transect and point count methodologies, we recorded 40 species across 08 orders and 16 families, totaling 1,384 individual birds. The order Anseriformes (ducks and geese) was predominant, comprising 11 species, followed by Passeriformes and Charadriiformes. The Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) recorded with the largest number of individuals, accounting for 25.32% of the relative abundance, followed by the Greylag Goose (Anser anser). Diversity indices revealed moderate diversity (Shannon-Wiener index H' = 2.33), high heterogeneity (Simpson’s index 1-D = 0.85), and low evenness (J = 0.63), indicating dominance by a limited number of species. Habitat analysis demonstrated that freshwater ecosystems supported 95% of the overall abundance, with herbivores predominating in the feeding guilds. Site-specific analysis indicated that the Agri-Forest habitat supported the highest abundance, underscoring the significance of mosaic landscapes in sustaining the migratory bird populations. The presence of the vulnerable species, the Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), underscores the conservation importance of Shivnala Lake as a critical wetland along the Central Asian Flyway. These findings highlight the ecological value of small- and medium-sized wetlands in central India and their role in maintaining avian diversity in the face of increasing anthropogenic and climatic pressures.