Feathered Nomads In Crisis

Dr Saeed Ahmad Ali

Lahore: The Punjab Wildlife Research Institute survey data reports that there has been a dip in the number of migratory birds from Siberia, with an estimated 60,011 Siberian birds recorded in the province in 2021-22, and this number dropped by 34 percent to 40,000 birds for 2022-23.

Punjab Wildlife Research Institute Deputy Director Dr Misbah Sarwar stated that the decline in Serbian birds is due toa shortage of water in lagoons and wetlands, increasing human intervention, illegal hunting, climate change impact, and weather changes.

Sindh Wildlife Conservator Javed Mehar further said that the number of migratory birds flying south to the wetlands of Sindh to escape the frigid cold of the Tundra region was recorded at around 661,537.

As per the annual bird survey of the Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) this year, the number is expected to be more than 49,000 as compared with last winter, Javed added.

Mehar explained that at the beginning of the winter season, the influx of migratory birds from all over the world, including Siberia, begins. These migratory birds travel thousands of miles through the Indus Flyway Zone and head for wetlands across Sindh, including Karachi.

The process of their arrival starts in the months of October and November every year, he added.

In response to the data from wildlife research, various other experts were of the opinion that the government needed to focus on the conservation of migratory birds by reducing human intervention and eliminating pollution.

The environmental laws need to be strictly enforced as the rapid decline in the number of migratory birds means that they will completely abandon Pakistan in the next few decades, expert opined.

According to Dr Mahmood Khalid Qamar, migratory birds are important for the ecology and tourism industries, amid the prevailing situation of environmental issues.

There are some more reasons why the population of migratory birds that used to come to Pakistan has declined over time. Human activities are the main reason, Dr Mahmood mentioned.

Nonetheless, illegal hunting migratory birds and bird-netting play a major role in decreasing the population of migratory birds, Dr Qamar added.

Breeding sites for migratory birds

Pakistan’s wondrous landscape beauty, natural resources, waterways and lagoons attract hundreds of thousands of migratory birds each year, providing breeding sites for many of their species.

These migratory birds, including both aquatic and terrestrial birds, starve for around four months and then return to their homelands in March.

Migration of birds is also described as regular seasonal movement between wintering and breeding grounds of south and north flyways.

Flyways are defined as flight pathways that are taken by migratory birds while moving between their overwintering quarters and breeding grounds. These flyways could include distances covered over oceans or continents, etc.

Pakistan is included in the list of countries that are covered by the Central Asian Flyway. This flyway covers the huge Eurasian continental areas between the Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean and islands linked with these oceans.

Migratory birds in Pakistan include ducks, cranes, geese, flamingos, swans, flacons and waders. Common species of migratory birds in Pakistan include gulls, ducks, mallards, plovers, stints, snipes, cormorant, northern shoveler, common teal, common pochards, cranes, skuas, jaegers, storks, etc.

Migratory birds fly from China and Russia due to the extreme cold weather and cover 4,500km in the north by using the Indus flyway to reach Pakistan. These migratory birds stop at wetlands and water bodies present in southern Pakistan.

Migratory birds usually move from Siberia, over Afghanistan, and finally into Pakistan during the winter season, arriving at the end of August and leaving in February.

Dr Saeed Ahmad Ali is a Lahore-based APP staffer. All information and facts provided are the sole responsibility of the writer.