Why #WaterbirdsCount: July

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As part of our campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Waterbird Census, we invited our partners to share their favourite images of wetlands and waterbirds. In India, each state has a coordinator for the regional programme of the IWC, the Asian Waterbird Census. This month coordinators and their local networks from the coastal states share photos and stories as we prepare for an extended survey of the entire Indian Ocean coast in 2017.

India’s 7,000 km of coasts are diverse and spectacular, with sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, coral reefs, mudflats, marshes, and mangroves offering an array of habitats for all kinds of wildlife and supporting millions of people. Waterbirds live here throughout the year, but India’s coasts are especially important during the northern winter months when nearly a hundred species complete their migration to these coasts. In 2017, Indian state coordinators and their networks together with our South Asia office and the Bombay Natural History Society will lead a special effort to survey as much of the Indian coast as possible during the January Asian Waterbird Census. They will be joined by counters in many other countries around the Indian Ocean, aiming to identify important coastal wetlands, learn more about the waterbirds using them and the threats they face.

Want to know more or find out how you can help? Then get in touch!  Contact us at [email protected]

A mangrove lined creek winds lazily into the distance in Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh. Coringa has the largest stretch of mangrove forest in South India. The mangrove is vital for local communities, providing important resources as well as services such as flood control and storm protection. Coringa is in a good condition, though another mangrove area in Andhra Pradesh (Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary) has recently been threatened by a proposed road construction. The Krishna mangroves have a healthy population of the highly endangered Fishing Cat, so this is cause for concern. Photo from Humayun Taher #iwc50 #waterbirdscount #mangroves  #species #biodiversity #nature #conservationphotography #ecosystemservices #India

A photo posted by @wetlands_international on

Pallas's Gulls in Bhitarkanika, Odisha, India. A familiar sight to fishermen, as these gulls will follow fishing boats looking for a snack. Oddly the Latin name for Pallas's Gull, Larus icthyaetus, means fish eagle! Bhitarkanika is a wetland of international importance  protected under the provisions of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, but continues to face severe competing demands from various quarters. One of India's Ramsar sites, Bhitarkanika harbours a number of endangered bird species. Wild Orissa, an organisation working for conservation of wildlife since 1996, monitors this wetland on a regular basis, including during the annual waterbirds census under the #AWC. Photo by Akash Ranjan Rath (Wild Orissa) #waterbirdscount #iwc50 #photooftheday #birdsofinstagram #birdwatching #birds #gull #conservation #savingspecies #wetlands #coast #beach #india #odisha

A photo posted by @wetlands_international on

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