Field Notes: Birdwatching Near Bhoj Wetland

Field Notes – Bhoj Wetland, 26 December 2024

Species Observed:

• Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) in winter plumage

• Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)

• River Tern (Sterna aurantia)

Location: Concrete embankment at Bhoj Wetland, adjacent to open water

The concrete embankment is covered in bird excretion suggestive of it being a resting place. The two river terns can be seen interacting with each other while a black-headed gull is seen sharing the same embankment, maintaining its distance, not interacting with the pigeons or the river terns.

Also spotted the pallas' gull, the brown-headed gulls which were flying around and picking up rice puffs that were thrown in the wetland along the sides of the wetland bank as post-worship waste.

Many people are used to throwing away flower petals, along with threads into a water-body as this is what they have long been taught due to rituals and customs.

However throwing away flowers in water actually isn't a very smart idea.

This leads to the flower decomposing in the water body, polluting it.

The Bhojtal consists of two lakes, upper lake and lower lake. The Bhoj Wetland is a a wetland of international importance in Bhopal, under the international Ramsar Convention since August 2002.

I also spotted one boat in the water along with what looked like a fishing net in a boatman's hand. I was happy to see that most of the wetland was clean and well-maintained save for the banks. The wetland was not disturbed by over crowding due to boating or any other tourist activity, preserving its true nature as an urban wetland.