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Site description (2004 baseline):

Gangapur Dam is situated 16 km from Nashik city. It was constructed in 1956-57 to supply drinking water to Nashik. The area around the reservoir is undulating grassland with patches of agricultural fields. Not much is known about the aquatic vegetation. The dominant grasses are Heteropogon contortus, Dicanthuim annulatum and Cymbopogon martinii.

AVIFAUNA: Gangapur Dam is a large freshwater body surrounded by grasslands, where large congregations of birds, sometime over 20,000 are seen during winter (October-March). A total of 210 bird species have been recorded, of which six are listed as threatened (BirdLife International 2001). According to B. Raha (pers. comm. 2003), the most common duck is the Common Pochard Aythya ferina. Sometimes, more than 10,000 are seen. According to Wetlands International (2002), this is about 1% biogeographic population that winters in South Asia. Blue-winged Teal Anas querquedula, Northern Pintail Anas acuta, Gadwall Anas strepera and Northern Shoveller Anas clypeata are also seen in hundreds. Some times, more than 2,000 Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger and Median Cormorant P. fuscicollis are found fishing. The 1% population threshold of Little Cormorant is 1,500 (Wetlands International 2002). The site falls in Biome-11 (Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone). BirdLife International (undated) has listed 59 species in this biome. In this site, 16 of these species have been recorded. The most interesting sighting is of the globally threatened Lesser Florican Sypheotides indica in the Gangapur grasslands. This rare species has been seen breeding in the nearby grasslands of the defence establishment (Raha and Prakash 2001).

OTHER KEY FAUNA: Detailed studies of mammals and other animals have not been done.

The Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena and Golden Jackal Canis aureus are seen occasionally.

MAIN THREATS: Poaching; Overgrazing in grassland.

Earlier, poaching of waterfowl and grassland birds was common, but as a result of conservation initiatives under taken by the Nature Conservation Society these have been reduced to some extent. The Nature Conservation Society has launched a campaign in this area to conserve the wetland and grassland birds. Forty-two hamlets and several villages around Gangapur Dam were covered. The BNHS and the Nature Conservation Society have jointly conducted a bird banding programme here, which has helped create interest in bird conservation.

Key contributors: B. Raha and N. Bhure.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gangapur Dam and grasslands (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gangapur-dam-and-grasslands-iba-india on 22/11/2024.