A REPORT ON THE BIRD BANDING PROGRAMME, PONG DAM, DT. KANGRA, HIMACHAL PRADESH January 18 - February 9, 2004 S. Balachandran S. Asad Akhtar Funded by Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India Collaborated by: State Council for Science, Technology & Environment (H.P.) Forest Department, Himachal Pradesh 2004ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to Shri Sanjeev Gupta, IAS, Secretary (IT, BT, S&T), Shri Bharat Khera IAS, Member Secretary & Shri R. K. Sood, Joint Member Secretary, for funding the programme through the Council for Science & Technology, Government of Himachal Pradesh. We thank Mr. A. G. Gulati, IFS, Chief Wildlife Warden, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh, for granting permission to carry out bird banding at the Pong Dam reservoir and providing reference material on Pong including the waterfowl count data. We are grateful to the Council for Science & Technology, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh, especially to Dr. S. C. Gupta, Senior Scientific Officer, Mr. Deepak Sethi and Mr. Ra Sharma, Project Associates, for sponsoring this programme and their valuable cooperation in ‘implementing it successfully. We thank Mr. A.K. Joshi, IFS, DFO, Hamirpur Wildlife Division, HLP., for his kind ‘cooperation during the study period. We received local assistance in the form of accommodation, transport and other logisties from the Forest Department and other personnel, especially at Dhameta. We greatly appreciate the help and assistance rendered to us. We also gratefully acknowledge the assistance, accommodation and help in the field provided by the staff of the Water Sports Complex and the Fisheries Department, Pong Dam. We are also grateful for the kind help and assistance rendered to the BNHS team by Major Sonam Takpa of the Military Intelligence. We are also grateful to Dr. A. R. Rahmani, Director, BNHS, for encouraging us to take up this programme and for going through this report. Mr. J. C. Daniel, Hon. Secretary, BNHS for his Valuable feedback and Mr. P. B. Shekar, Programme Officer, for helping to organize the camp.A REPORT ON THE BIRD BANDING PROGRAMME, PONG DAM, DT. KANGRA, HIMACHAL PRADESH January 18 - February 9, 2004 Introduction, ‘The bird banding programme was initiated and sponsored by the Council for Science & Technology, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh and was primarily designed to impart training in bird banding and identification techniques to forest department personnel, NGO representatives and birdwatchers. Twenty five participants took part in the training programme. ‘The programme was formally inaugurated on 20" January 2004, at the Water Sports Complex, Pong Dam, by Dr. R. K. Sood, Jt. Secretary, Council for Science & Technology, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh. A presentation on Bird Migration was made by the EIA Scientist and trainees were familiarized with different kinds of rings and the network of bird banders around the world. The trainees were also sensitized to the importance of reporting ring recoveries to BNHS, which otherwise are wasted due to lack of awareness amongst the general public. It was emphasized that the recovery data is a very important component of a banding programme and every bit of information helps in building up a data base which enhances our understanding of bird migration over a period of time. STUDY AREA ‘The Pong Dam (31° 80" to 32° 7° N, 75° 80° to 76° 25° 5) is located on the State Highway No. 27 and is about 70 kms from Pathankot and 170 kms from Chandigarh. Impounded across the River Beas, the Pong reservoir with a catchment area of 12,651 sq. km. and mean waterspread of 15,662 hectares came into being during 1975 — 76. Located in district Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, the dam was created for hydel power generation and irrigation purposes. Located in the Shivalik hills on the Himachal side of the Punjab — Himachal