Jewel Of Jharkhand

Jharkhand’s rarely visited Udhwa Lake Bird Sanctuary is home to nearly 106 species of birds. Here’s a report.

- Anwaruddin Choudhury

On a visit to Jharkhand in December 2014, I made three field trips to Udhwa Lake Bird Sanctuary(UBS), which led me to discover why it is listed as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area. However, I found that the sanctuary’s ornithological wealth has been poorly documented.

Established in 1991, Udhwa lies at the edge of the Chhotanagpur Plateau (Rajmahal Hills) in the floodplains of the Ganges River. It is located in Rajmahal subdivision of Sahibganj district, and the Ganges River flows nearby to its northeast and east. UBS has two large jheels or lakes, Berhale or Barhil (410 hectares) and Pataura or Patauda (155 hectares). There are a few other wetlands in adjacent areas. Together, these tracts of lakes and marshes form a large complex of wetlands that is home to a variety of birds. Berhale is largely a marshy region with aquatic vegetation and open water areas occurring intermittently, while Pataura is a clear water body. Being at the edge of the Rajmahal Hills, Udhwa’s physiography comprises flat floodplains with low undulating tract towards the west at an elevation of 35m msl. The Ganga is connected to the wetland complex through the Udhwa nullah, about 25 km away (but hardly 5 km as the crow flies).

With its adjacent wetlands, Udhwa is an 8 sq. km complex and includes 5.65 sq. km notified as a bird sanctuary along with reclaimed and seasonally cultivated tracts. It has a tropical monsoon type of climate, with a hot wet summer, and a cool dry winter (annual precipitation 1100–1600 mm; annual temperature 7° to 40°C). The main habitat types of the surrounding areas are cultivated countryside and degraded tropical moist deciduous forests, scrub and grass.