nagpur the gregarious greylag geese that lag behind when it comes to migration are the first to arrive in gondia this year the arrival of two flocks of 20 birds the largest and bulkiest of the geese have thrilled bird loversthe name itself speaks about its late arrival the birds are natives of the uk and europe and are the last of the species to migrate but this year they have landed first says bird expert nitin marathe with the onset of winter migratory birds from the northern hemisphere and europe are being seen in lakes in the region though the avians are being reported to be few in numbers experts hope more flocks to arrive in the next 15 days including the mostsoughtafter barheaded geese bhg from mongoliathese birds travel thousands of kilometres crossing the central asian flyway to reach lakes in the region we expect their numbers to increase when the water recedes and some marsh is created at shores says dr anil pimplapure bird expert and founder of central india bird academy cibaon monday i recorded a flock of 11 geese at zilmili lake in birsi the geese have also arrived in adjoining paraswada and bazartola lakes common kestrel a bird of prey species belonging to the group of the falcon family was also seen said sharad gajbhiye an avid birdwatcher gondia dentist dr deepkisen bisen said he recorded another flock of nine greylag geese on tuesday we expect more birds to come last year 22 birds were recorded these birds arrive only in gondia and stay till march he saidanother migratory prey bird eurasian hobby a small slim falcon and longdistance migrant from africa asia and europe was recorded by marathe near ramtek and also near kondhali migratory birds like redstart grey wagtail and garganey have arrived in the region though it is too early to tell about the numbers once the first crop is harvested and the second crop like chana will be sown we can expect barheaded geese which thrive on the tender shoots of chana gram will arrive by this monthend and pochards and other ducks would also follow once the winter becomes harsh in the european and north asian countries said marathegarganey a small dabbling duck from the uk has been recorded by birdwatchers in gorewada lake on the arrival of lesser number of migratory birds this time at gorewada murali manohar naidu a regular visitor to the lake said this year water level in gorewada is less which deprives food to diving ducks hence these ducks are not seen in big numbers though other local water bird species are theremarathe says due to heavy rains till last month many lakes like chargaon paradgaon saiki and others in the region are still filled to its brim and birds have been avoiding these water bodies birds like barheaded geese need shore to rest but the shores of many lakes are still underwater hence we will have to waiteven as birdwatchers are keenly awaiting