India's first coastal and wader birds census

Why in the news?

• India's first coastal and wader birds census is being organized at Marine National Park and Marine Sanctuary located in Jamnagar (Gujarat).
•  It will be organized from 3 to 5 January 2025.
•  It is being done by the Gujarat Forest Department in collaboration with Bird Conservation Society Gujarat, an NGO.

Wader birds:

• Wader birds are birds that are found around reservoirs, ponds, rivers, lakes, seas or other water bodies
• They do most of their activities like feeding, nesting and living near water.
• Such as- crane, stork, shoebill, ibis, heron and flamingo.

Marine National Park and Marine Sanctuary:

• It is an archipelago of 42 tropical islands located on the northern coast of Jamnagar district and the southern coast of Kutch.
• It is India's first marine wildlife sanctuary and first marine national park, created in the Gulf of Kutch in 1980 and 1982 respectively.