The Wadhwana wetland is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

in Dabhoi, Vadodara district in the Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. It was formed as a result of an irrigation dam in 1910. Due to its ecological significance, it was designated as a

Ramsar wetland site This is the list of Wetlands of International Importance as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scienti ...

on 2021.

Ecological significance

The Wadhvana Wetland is considered internationally important as it provides a wintering ground to migratory

water bird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

s that migrate on the

Central Asian Flyway The Central Asian Flyway (CAF), Central Asian-Indian Flyway, or Central Asian-South Asian Flyway is a flyway covering a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean and the associated island chains. The CAF compri ...

. These water birds include endangered or near-threatened species like the

Dalmatian pelican The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus'') is the largest member of the pelican family, and perhaps the world's largest freshwater bird, although rivaled in weight and length by the largest swans. They are elegant soaring birds, with wingspan ...

(''Pelecanus crispus''),

Pallas's fish eagle Pallas's fish eagle (''Haliaeetus leucoryphus''), also known as Pallas's sea eagle or band-tailed fish eagle, is a large, brownish sea eagle. It breeds in the east Palearctic in Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, C ...

(''Haliaeetus leucoryphus''),

common pochard The common pochard (; ''Aythya ferina'') is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ''ferina'', "wild game", ...

(''Aythya ferina''),

ferruginous duck The ferruginous duck (''Aythya nyroca''), also known as ferruginous pochard, common white-eye or white-eyed pochard, is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurosiberia. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'' an unidentified seabir ...

(''Aythya nyroca'') and

grey-headed fish eagle The grey-headed fish eagle (''Haliaeetus ichthyaetus'') is a fish-eating bird of prey from South East Asia.Robson, C. (2000). ''A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia''. UK: New Holland Publishers. It is a large stocky raptor with adults h ...

(''Icthyophaga ichthyaetus''). The

red-crested pochard The red-crested pochard (''Netta rufina'') is a large diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek language, Greek ''Netta'' "duck", and Latin ''rufina'', "golden-red" (from ''rufus'', "ruddy"). Its breeding habitat is lowland marshes a ...

(''Netta rufina''), a duck that is otherwise rare in Western India, is observed in this wetland during winter.

References

{{coord, 22.172, 73.486, type:landmark_region:IN_dim:3000, display=title Ramsar sites in India Wetlands of India Protected areas of Gujarat

Ecological significance

See also

References