The stork was photographed by a birder, Manoj Nair.
At 5.55 pm, two birders in Najafgarh spotted the black-necked stork that was photographed Thursday evening with a bottleneck around its beak. Since Friday morning, a search for the “near-threatened” bird has been on in Basai wetland, Najafgarh and Sultanpur area.
“We have informed Haryana’s Chief conservator of forests Vivek Saxena and the District Forest officer. They are sending another team to rescue the stork,” said senior birder Pankaj Gupta. Two birders at the site said, “The bird tried opening its beak to eat something, but dropped it… It’s been able to drink a little water. It’s not as weak as we thought it would be. If we approach it, it might fly away.”
The birders had given up hope, with Sunday being the last day of the search. The catchers reached the site in the evening, and will return there at 10.30 pm. They said, “The bird is not flying for now… The mission will be over by midnight.”