High Congregation of Demoiselle Cranes at a Wintering Site in Khichan, Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Thousands of cranes winter in the Khichan village of Phalodi tehsil, Phalodi district, Rajasthan, India. To understand the coexistence of the Demoiselle Crane with humans, we studied a decade of observations and information about conservation interventions conducted by the villagers and administration. Additionally, small conservation initiatives along with systematic data collection across the site, and mapping of the study area were conducted from October 2019 to March 2022. In 2022, study area near Khichan was also surveyed to identify the important sites for cranes. Crane injuries and mortalities were recorded between 2010 and 2021, mostly near roosting and foraging sites. The causes of these mortalities were food poisoning, collision with powerlines, attack by free-ranging dogs, and injury from Chinese manja (kite flying thread). To reduce incidences of dog attacks on birds, villagers with the help of the local administration enclosed waterbodies with chain-linked fencing. The local people mobilized the Government to enforce the power distribution agencies to underground a 33-kV powerline passing through the resting site of cranes. Decades of responsible efforts by the local communities resulted in declaration of Khichan as a conservation reserve for the Demoiselle Cranes in 2023. There is a need to prepare a long-term conservation action plan for the newly declared Kurjan reserve. Strict restrictions on new high-tension powerlines in and around Khichan, random chemical testing of grains being fed to the cranes, and ringing/tagging of the birds can be undertaken in the future as additional conservation measures. Measures such as creating a few more Chugga Ghars (bird feeding enclosures) separated by large distances instead of just one site can further mitigate the risk to the large populations of Demoiselle Crane in a small area like Khichan.