3,000 birds arrive every year, and by monsoon’s end the number doubles

Locals and birdwatchers estimate that around 3,000 birds arrive at Danapur cantonment in Patna during the peak season, with the number doubling as young birds join the return migration, according to those who track the seasonal arrivals.

Beyond its military role, the cantonment has emerged as a seasonal refuge for thousands of migratory birds that arrive every year for nesting, including the Asian openbill stork, which arrives between May and June. Col Om Prakash said Danapur cantonment has, over the decades, evolved into a safe breeding ground where thousands of migratory birds return with remarkable regularity, arriving from a vast migratory belt stretching across parts of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

Each year, migratory birds build large communal nests on tall trees inside the cantonment area. By the end of the monsoon, they raise their young ones, and as winter approaches, the flocks gradually leave the region and return to the Himalayan foothills and other colder regions, Col Prakash said. Interestingly, the population increases during the return journey as juveniles born during their stay join the migration back.

Army personnel, often trained for operations along the borders, are actively involved in protecting the birds, caring for the injured and preventing poaching within the protected campus.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/by PJeganathan