The Boomdeling valley in Trashi Yangtse is seeing increased black-necked crane arrivals this time. Some 97 cranes, an increase of six from last year, have arrived so far.
The Boomdeling Wildlife Sanctuary officials are expecting more birds to arrive.
The rise is being attributed to proper maintenance of the rooting site. All bushes were cleared ahead of cranes’ arrival in November.
“Wildlife officials and locals come together every year to clean, and this time we cleaned extensively,” Chief Forestry Officer Karma Tempa said.
The birds feed on grain drops in the paddy fields in Yangtse and Boomdeling Gewogs. Locals in these areas therefore refrain from planting winter crops.
“Since there is not much left in the paddy fields to feed on, we have started spreading out grains on the ground from this year,” Chief Forestry Officer Karma Tempa added.
The black-necked crane is an endangered bird species. The rare and the graceful birds migrate from their breeding grounds in Tibet to their winter grounds in Bhutan and roost in the country until spring.
Bhutan has made significant strides in conserving black-necked cranes. The Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) is at the heart of the country’s black-necked crane conservation efforts.
The bird species is legally protected in Bhutan. Messing with the protected bird species is a fourth degree felony under the Penal Code of Bhutan.
Records maintained over the decades show an increase in the number of the birds flying to Bhutan. From over 300 birds in the mid 1980’s, the number has increased to over 600 in the recent years.
The Phobjikha valley is the most popular winter habitats of the threatened black-necked cranes. The valley sees the highest number of cranes every year.
The other not-so-popular roosting grounds are in Bumthang, Lhuentse, and Khotakha and Saephu in Wangdue Phodrang.
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