A waterfowl census has begun in lakes, rivers, and wetlands across the country from Saturday. The census is conducted every year from the first Saturday of January. The census was started in mid-winter to assess the condition of birds found in water and wetlands due to the all-round crisis.

Waterfowl are monitored and counted every year to increase public awareness by updating the distribution of waterfowl, updating their numbers, and involving the local community in conservation. This year, the census will be conducted from Poush 19 to Magh 4 (January 3 to 18). 

The census is being coordinated by the Nepal Ornithologists' Association in coordination with Wetland International. The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and the Bird Conservation Association (BCN) have supported this. More than 400 ornithologists, nature guides, wildlife photographers and volunteers from across the country who have the skills, abilities and expertise to know and identify birds are participating.

The census is being conducted from Koshi in the east to Shuklaphata in the west. The census is being conducted from the lowland Jagdishpur Bird Reserve in the Terai to the Himalayan region of Rara Lake in the north. The census will be conducted in more than 80 small places under 18 major wetlands across the country, said Laxman Paudyal, national coordinator of the waterfowl census at Wetland International. Coordinators have been appointed for bird counting in each place. They are said to arrange their convenient time for counting.

Chitwan will be divided into three parts, eastern, western and central. The program will be held in all three parts on Poush 24 and 25, said Central Chitwan Coordinator Manish Limbu. In Pokhara alone, bird counting will be done in 11 places. Similarly, birds in the Koshi Tappu, Dhanushadham, Hetauda and Nawalpur border areas will also be included in the count.

Similarly, the count will be done in Manohara and Bagmati rivers and Toudaha Pokhari in the Kathmandu Valley. BCN Coordinator Jayanath Bhandari said that the bird counting started from Saturday morning in the wetlands and river banks from Chobhar in Kathmandu to Toudaha. The counting will be done in Manohara River in Kathmandu on Poush 24 and 25, said Census Coordinator Sanjay Tha Shrestha. Similarly, the counting will start in Kamal Pokhari and Bijaypur River in Pokhara on Poush 23 and end on the 25, said Coordinator Jhalak Chaudhary.

‘The census has started from Saturday’, said senior ornithologist Dr. Hemsagar Baral, ‘The census will be conducted in all areas after coordinating with local friends.’ Organizations active in bird conservation have been given the responsibility of dividing the areas where water birds are found. The census will be conducted in Jagdishpur, Bisahajari and Ghodaghodi lakes, which are listed as world wetlands. The census will be conducted in Lumbini area and Dang’s Rapti River. The census will also be conducted in places including Gaidahawa and Danapur in Rupandehi, and the census will also be conducted in Banke, Bardiya and Mahakali rivers. 

He said that since the waterfowl census is being conducted worldwide at the same time under the leadership of Wetland International, it will help in knowing the number of waterfowl worldwide. In this census, birds will be identified with the help of other participants under the leadership of experts who can identify birds well. Ornithologist Krishna Prasad Bhusal said that thousands of waterfowl that once came from Siberia are no longer seen in Kathmandu's Toudaha.

The pink-headed duck, which is now thought to be extinct from the world, was once recorded in the Toudaha area. He said that not only that, but many other rare birds, including the world's rarest duck, the shrike, the mallard, the wagtail and the khoyahas, have been displaced from this area. Ornithologist Bhusal said that the census is also necessary for local awareness about the current situation and birds. 

Why count waterfowl?

This is the 40th national census that has been taking place in Nepal since 1987. The census is conducted to record information such as waterfowl species, their numbers and problems seen in their habitats. Bird species that feed, breed and spend most of their time in water, lakes, wetlands and surrounding areas are called waterfowl or waterfowl.

It is said that since the existing problems, habitat conditions and the general community's perception will also be recorded during the census, it will also help in the formulation and implementation of necessary policies for the conservation of birds and their habitats. The results of the census will help in the formulation of bird conservation programs and policies, said ornithologist DB Chaudhary. 

‘Weak and strong sides are known,’ he said, ‘it will help in testing the impact of climate change. This will help the local and federal governments to work in formulating policies, plans and programs regarding birds,’ he said. The report of the current census will be made public during the Wildlife Week celebrated in Baisakh. In the bird census conducted in 78 areas of 18 places in the country in 2025, 96,565 birds of 96 species were counted. 

Birds begin to migrate as soon as snowfall begins in the North Pole. Due to the extreme cold, they come here to escape the increasing cold of the winter season. During this period, thousands of birds migrate to the wetlands, ravines, lakes and rivers of the lower Himalayas, mountains and Terai. Some return after raising their young.

The migratory birds that come to Nepal from Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, China, Mongolia, as well as Europe, Korea and Tibetan regions spend the winter in the wetlands here due to the favorable climate, safe habitat and grazing areas. As the wetlands shrink and disappear, the number of wintering waterfowl dependent on the wetlands has been decreasing in recent years, said ornithologist Ankit Vilas Joshi.  

He said that waterfowl are at risk due to obstructions in flight paths and increasing use of pesticides. ‘Pesticide use and climate change in the fields have become problems,’ he said, ‘unprotected electric wires and illegal poaching have also added to the problem.’ As migratory birds become tired from long-distance travel and have new shelters, the risk of natural and human predation has increased. Every year’s census shows that the condition of waterfowl is in danger. 

Among the world’s rarest birds found in Nepal, 13 species are waterfowl.  There are records of 903 species of birds found in Nepal. Of these, more than 150 are winter visitors and more than 60 are summer visitors. The birds that come in winter mainly include species such as swans, grebes, grebes, divers and terns. 

How are birds counted?

After knowing the area in which waterfowl mainly live, they are counted from a certain distance. The number and species of birds seen in front are noted. If a bird passes the counter from behind and moves forward, they subtract it so that the number is not repeated. Ornithologist nature guides, who are familiar with the color, structure and sound of birds, use binoculars and binoculars to count.