Migratory birds from Russia change course to leave Chitral barren and lifeless

Migratory birds from Russia change course to leave Chitral barren and lifeless

Chitral in particular and the wetlands of the country in general, have been facing a serious dearth of the migratory birds which normally visit the country to escape the harsh winters of the Siberia and Steppes of Russia.

Millions of birds ranging from a wide variety of Geese, ducks, Pelicans and hundreds of other species, which constitute one of the eagerly-awaited bird populations in the country, have now sharply reduced in numbers, causing concern for the wildlife conservationists.

One of the many reasons of the shortage of the migratory birds is perhaps the unchecked hunting and poaching in the region which has severely affected the bird’s migratory routes in the region.

These birds, which fly for days without stopping over and cover thousands of miles to reach the warm wetlands of the Indus Basin, are ruthlessly hunted and stalked by the people of these regions.

Chitral is one of the favourite stop-over for these birds before they fly further down to the grand lakes of Sindh, namely Manchar and Keenjhar Lakes.

Akhtar Ali of Torkhow valley said that on average he used to hunt two ducks in the previous seasons, but this year he like most of other hunters in the area was yet to hunt a bird though he had raised an artificial lake and had also reared a pair of hounds.

The hunting season of ducks, quite popular among the locals, starts in February and continues for two months. A number of people have developed a craze for the hunting and spend big money on making artificial ponds and lakes along the river.

Another hunter from Mastuj, Sher Dulla Khan said that waiting from dawn to dusk in the kiosk along his lake had been fruitless for him this season so far.

“I have not heard the echo of a single gunshot in other lakes and ponds during this season in the river bed while in the past sounds of firing in all the surrounding area used to be a routine after the dawn,” he said.

Ejaz Ahmed, a biodiversity specialist, said that fabulous species of ducks, including Siberian crane, pintail, bar-headed geese, teals and mallards, came to Chitral in this season.

Confirming the very low arrivals of the Siberian ducks in the valley, he attributed it to the extension in winter season and the incessant snowfall in the high altitude areas for last two months.

He said that the birds diverted their route if they found inclement weather in the flyway and this had most probably happened this year.

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Posted by Naveed A Bari on Mar 5 2012. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry