Migratory Birds: Across the Border & Yet at Home

By Bhushan Parimoo

As the spring start replacing the winter, the Winged Visitors make necessary preparations once more for their seasonal migration. Migration has been a way of life for survival oscillating with a starling precision. Between summer and winter habitats apart thousands of Kilometres between each other. And each time before taking the flight for onward journey towards homeland. Wish the Host a thankful Goodbye with a usual V-Shaped Formation. For the homely comforts they had enjoyed here. They migrate usually in the formation of V-Shape .A typical of them to conserves their energy. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of him, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. Thus fly for a long time before they must stop for rest. Easier for them to keep track of each member of the flock. Heart rates have also been found to be lower when flying in a V versus flying solo doesn’t fly in straight lines. State of Jammu and Kashmir has been a land of promise to them for centuries without fail. It is a home away from home for all the purposes in all the seasons. Late Master Samsar Chand Kaul a world famed Ornithologist from Kashmir while studying birds of Kashmir. Had often expressed that the State can be safely called a Paradise for the Migratory Birds: Universal Citizens on this planet. Geographically the State is positioned on Central Asian-Indian Flyway and the Palearctic – Oriental zoogeographic regions, partly within the Tibetan biome and on the boundary of Ladhakh. Offer ideal atmosphere and unmatched conducive Habitat. That is why it has the routes followed by migratory birds on their journeys between their breeding and wintering places. Serves passage as well a transitory camps enroute the plains of India and for the reverse journey too. Once State was proud to have envious large number of Wetlands/Lakes. Which made it a warm hearted host to winged visitors for all the seasons and reasons . Offered unlimited varied choice to offer to the migratory birds of all kinds or the local ones to select sites of their choices. That has been the reason these seasonal regular visitors make their way here to escape the harsh extreme freezing conditions prevailing in their summer resorts during this period of time and state provide them a homely environ to stay and thrive. Migrating birds cover thousands of miles in their annual travels, often travelling the same course year after year with little variation. Land here from Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, some countries of Eastern Europe (Russia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Siberia, China, Japan, Philippines. New Zealand and other regions of the world. It has been admitted beyond any shade of doubt, which elders knew over centuries though termed them illiterate, that the intimate linkages between some bird species and their habitats make them useful for identifying ecosystem health. As such, they were welcomed being indicators of deteriorating habitat quality and environmental pollution. More so as metrics to determine the success of restoration efforts. Helps in maintaining sustainable population levels of their prey and predator species and, after death, provide food for scavengers and decomposers. Many birds are important in plant reproduction through their services as pollinators or seed dispersers. This very basic parameters authorities, failed to take note of and leaving much to be desired to have measures taken to stick to basics of maintaining the wetlands and other water bodies. Lakes and other water bodies big or small are on constant on decline .In the process becoming the lesser the numbers year after year. Before our very eyes in recent past many of them have either vanished and others parching abandoned as orphans. Those still struggled to survive but like others are dying by degrees. Some of the spots scattered here all over the Kashmir range has not left even traces of them except in remembrance by the elders, laminating the wisdom of the authorities. It has been given to understand that there are 183 species from the sub-tropical plains of Jammu. In the wetlands, Pargwal, Kokerian, Gharana, Dansral, Nanga, and at other places. Except Gharana which has been reduced to one fifth of its original size all others has been vanished in the thin air. Out of 183 species said to be here in this part mention is often made of a few of them. For instance bar-headed geese, Gadwalls, common teals, purple swamp hens, , Indian moor hens, black-winged stilts, Cormorant, egret , Green Shanks etc .The Kashmir in its both the temperate and alpine regions has 262 species .Mention generally made of Brahminy Duck, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Garganey, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Common Merganser, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Ferruginous Pochard, Red-Crested Pochard, Ruddy Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Common Teal, and Eurasian Wigeonthe Bar-headed Goose, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Ferruginous Duck and Northern Cardinal and may be of a few more . Claimed to be spotted all the mountain areas like Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg etc. For wild ducks (migratory / seasonal) and other waterfowl you can visit Hokarsar, Anchar, Manasbal, Wular, Dal & Nageen Lakes Feroze Nalla (Tangmarg). The cold high and dry -level desert of Ladakh has 225 species.. As winter winged visitors are being bade a heartfelt farewell here. At the same time passionate welcome awaits to the summer migratory winged visitor in Ladhakh plateau .The State Bird Black Necked Crane for whom every Ladhakhi wait eagerly to Greet .Some of the birds are found Bar-headed Goose, Himalayan Seacock, Tibetian Snowcock, Tibetan Sandgrouse, Grey-heads strike Lanius tephronotus (race lahulensis):White-throated Dipper Brown Dipper, Tickell’s Thrust Turdus unicolor, White-winged Redstart, White-brown Tit Wabler, Tibetain Lark Melanocorypha maxima.Plain-backed Snowfinch,Brandit’sMountain Finch Leucosticte brandti. Great Rosefinch Carpodacus rubicilla and many others .Noticed at,Tsokar Plains ,Tso-Kar (a salt lake) and Startsapuk-Tso (a freshwater lake) ,Tsomoriri Lake , Puga-Sumdo Valley,Nubra Valley and others. About the number of species found in the state is presumed to be compiled from the old records prior to pre 1947 reporting. Through media Department makes available number of winged visitors visited during the season, focusing a couple of places in the entire state. While this writer along with entire section of elders observe with each passing years the drastically reduction in numbers of the visitors. The sites with which the visitors had a centuries old relation are not mostly there now. And in many cases those do exits are in a pathetic conditions. What How many of the species mentioned remain, the number and the status at present seem to be a classified secret never made public. Come October Hosts both naturalists and the poachers pass days in expectation of their arrival at their usual sites in the valley as well as in Jammu. Delighted is everyone to find their arrival numbers grow with each passing days. This goes at times as late as February end. The Birdwatchers count the number compare with previous arrivals and worried all the time how to save them. It is revealing that the Department of Wildlife Protection, with limited resources do contribute to ensure to contain poaching these days. Protection Department but before those in power when involved it gets helpless which is most distressing aspect in the protection of these innocent harmless Guests. Some Hunting Gears including Guns has been reported seized by the enforcing agency at times at great risks, but past track record reveals almost nil convictions .Migration instinct have been emerged, developed and perfected in the animals for various reasons. Some travel long distances on a seasonal basis for food, finding their meal of choice hundreds and thousands of miles away. Others make their journeys to find mates while still others do it to avoid unfavourable weather. The golden jellyfish might travel just a few hundred meters on their daily migration, following the sun. Some kinds of plankton start their day hundreds of feet down the water column before coming up nearer the surface while the sun is out. At night they migrate back down to lower depths. Migratory Birds require a great deal of strength and stamina a huge feat of endurance. Roughly one in five bird species migrate. When travelling between their breeding and wintering grounds, birds don’t choose their paths at random. They undertake set routes that include suitable habitats where they can stop to rest and refuel along the way. Have remarkable migration patterns and navigation skills including homing (return to same area after migration) instinct which has always fascinated and puzzled human minds. Birds visualize and recognize even landmarks like mountains, rivers, and so on to navigate from one geographical region to other. Birds can get compass information from the sun, the stars, and by sensing the earth’s magnetic field. They also get information from the position of the setting sun and from landmarks seen during the day. There’s even evidence that sense of smell plays a role, at least for homing pigeons. Some species, particularly waterfowl and cranes, follow preferred pathways on their annual migrations. These pathways are often related to important stopover locations that provide food supplies critical to the birds’ survival. Smaller birds tend to migrate in broad fronts across the landscape. First-year birds often make their very first migration on their own. Somehow they can find their winter home despite never having seen it before, and return the following spring to where they were born. The secrets of their amazing navigational skills aren’t fully understood, partly because birds combine several different types of senses when they navigate. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was enacted in 1918 prohibits the killing of them there are a little over 1,000 different species that are protected under the act .Unfortunately migratory birds are now more threatened than ever , with more than 40 percent of species declining. Desirable for the J&K Department of Wildlife Protection has to make necessary efforts to reach unto the people around the sites where these Visitors grace the State with their selection and stay. And make them aware the importance to save them, have their active participation to ensure to protect the habitats for which they have travelled thousands of Kilometres to be our guest. Let us hope, necessary orientation shall be carried to bring the mission on right track to Save Birds.
(The Writer is a Jammu based Environmentalist)