There was a wave of celebration among the wildlife enthusiasts especially the bird lovers in Andhra Pradesh as 313 avian species were spotted in the State during the four-day Great Backyard Bird Count. This is the first time since 2013 that more than 300 bird species were recorded during the GBBC programme.

Notably, the rarely-sighted common buzzard which is found in Europe was spotted for the second time in the State.

The results of the census that was conducted from February 17 to 20 released recently accounted for 65 per cent of the total of 490 species found in the State.

Incidentally, a total of 1,017 bird species were recorded from across 35 States and Union Territories in India, and Andhra Pradesh stands 12th as per the number of species of birds in the country.

Explaining the objective of GBBC, Rajasekhar Bandi, a science coordinator said besides taking a count of the bird species, it aims to connect more people with nature and provide a fillip to the hobby of birdwatching. He wants more educational institutions and people to join in this mammoth effort to document the amazing avian diversity in the State.

Talking about the common buzzard Bandi said it migrates to India and its southern regions in winters. In 2019 it was seen for the first time in East Godavari and this time it has been spotted at Vijayawada.

Also, during the GBBC eight species of owls were also seen in the State.