Some Russians still choosing India's Goan beaches over Europe's Portugal & Spain this winter!

It is heartening to note that even as Russian tourists of a certain variety have been reportedly eschewing their usual Goan seaside perches in favour of newly-attractive European destinations like Portugal and Spain this winter, other natives of that region are instead flocking here in greater numbers: birds.

While the travails of the rouble and local unsavoury incidents may have played a role in the decline in human arrivals from that part of the world, the avian inhabitants of some of the most remote regions of Russia are clearly still enamoured of India’s littoral attractions, albeit on the opposite coast of the peninsula, at Odisha’s Chilika Lake. That the birds have returned in greater numbers after the 2013 dip due to Cyclone Phailin, sets to rest any rumours that the storm would convince them to permanently change their winter destination to other salubrious climes.

As tourists go, India’s winged visitors have probably been the least contentious and most loyal — even if their continued custom does not translate into dollar earnings for the tourism sector. However, their seasonal presence in areas like Chilika certainly acts as a magnet for human tourists. In that context, health and safety measures for their sojourn here should definitely be stepped up, with the H5N1 threat rising again.