Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary Records Highest Ever Count of Water Birds

The Annual Water Bird Count 2025 at Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary was conducted
on February 1, 2025, with the participation of more than 100 personnel from the Himachal Pradesh
Forest Department, Bombay Natural History Society, WII, bird enthusiasts, and local residents. The
exercise, which was preceded by a pre-census briefing on January 31, covered the entire sanctuary,
divided into 25 sections.
The count revealed a total of 153,719 water-dependent birds of 97 species, including
144,371 migratory birds of 55 species, 7,382 resident birds of 31 species, and 1,966 birds of 11 other