Translating Knowledge into Actions

Key findings There were a total of 98 individuals in pre-breeding and 240 individuals of lesser adjutant stork in post-breeding periods (94 chicks and 146 adults) in the study area. On average, there were 1.29 chicks per nest. Bombax ceiba and Adina cordifolia were found to be the most preferred nesting trees for lesser adjutant storks. Habitat preference of lesser adjutant storks revealed that colonies were more likely to occur in farmlands and swamps. All the nests of lesser adjutant storks were found on trees above 30 m height, the average tree height was 42.5 ± 6.8 m and the average nest height was 34.4 ± 4.3 m. Questionnaire surveys revealed that people were not aware about conservation of lesser adjutant storks. More than 80% of respondents (n=145) opined that forest destruction was the most serious threat to storks followed by human disturbance (79%), poaching (73%), pesticide use (52%), and urbanization/industrialization (43%).