There’s a lot happening in the forests of Dudhwa, and here’s the best bits of news from there: A bird count was conducted after a gap of six years and for the first time the forest entered some new visitors in its register — the Maroon Oriole, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Short-Eared Owl.

The winter bird count concluded on Sunday, and while the results are being compiled right now, here’s what else the birders spotted: the critically endangered Himalayan Griffon and two other species of vultures.

The experts were staggered to find some summer season migratory birds like Black Bittern and Paradise Flycatcher lodging in Dudhwa even in winter, which they cataloged as a “profoundly striking feature.”

Dudhwa has been known to host a huge population of birds with over 450 species, making it an ideal space for extensive research and study on birds. Resident tigers, swamp deer, one-horned rhinoceros, wild elephants, reptiles and several other indigenous species, besides its natural forest cover and lush greenery, make Dudhwa an enchantment for excursionists, nature lovers and wildlife experts.