Rapid Documentation of Avifaunal Diversity of Mirik Lake, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India, 2017

The dataset “Rapid Documentation of Avifaunal Diversity of Mirik Lake, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India, 2017” is published by Nature Mates Nature Club. Mirik lake is also known as Sumendu Lake, which is an artificial reservoir situated in Mirik Town. Its construction was initially proposed in 1974 as part of the Mirik Tourist Project with a goal of promoting facilitation of commercial tourism in the area. This lake has been incorporated into the National Lake conservation programme, established by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, further emphasizing its ecological importance. The lake covers a total area of 16.19 ha with an approximate length of 1.25 km and a peripheral road spanning about 3.5 km . The arch type overbridge across the lake is about 24.38m in length. Mirik experiences temperate climate, characterized by mild summers, cold winters and wet monsoons. The east bank of the lake is flat landscape, while the west bank has a hilly slope covered by rich forest of Cryptomeria japonica. The lake is fed by both perennial streams and rainwater. The dataset presented here is a comprehensive record of avian species observed during a field excursion at Mirik Lake. All the birds have been categorized and identified upto species taxonomic rank. The avian taxonomic group exhibits remarkable diversity, consisting of 63 species that are further categorized into 32 families and 12 orders. Notably, during the excursion , the elusive black-tailed crake was spotted, which is a rare find not typically observed in any other regions of India.