The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), one of India’s premier avian research institutes, will start operating its first regional centre or avifauna observatory on the campus of Wetland Research and Training Centre near Chilika Lake (Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon), Odisha.

• Lake Chilika is largest coastal lagoon or brackish water lake in India and Asia and second largest lagoon in the world (after The New Caledonian barrier reef in New Caledonia).
• It is located at mouth of Daya River It hosts nearly one million birds with 97 species being intercontinental migratory in nature during the winter season.
• It is largest wintering ground for migratory waterfowl found anywhere on Indian sub-continent.
• It is one of hotspot of biodiversity in country and some rare, vulnerable and endangered species listed in IUCN Red List of threatened animals.
• It was first waterbody in Indian to be designated as wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1981.
• It was put under Montreux Record (record for such sites where there has been or likely to be adverse ecological change due to manmade activities), but was later removed from it due to conservation efforts.