The Pong
Wetland, spread over nearly 320 sq km in Kangra district, has
witnessed a record arrival of migratory birds this winter.
Census conducted
at the water fowl sanctuary recently puts the bird count at 1.44 lakh
highest arrival of water fowls ever recorded.
Wildlife experts
attribute it to high level of pollution at Harike Wetland, near
Amritsar in Punjab that earlier remained one of the favorite
destination for birds migrating from Siberia and Central Asian
regions.
Birds flying
across the TransHimalayan region reach Afghanistan and from there they
migrate to Harike, near Amritsar, and later arrive at Pong wetland.
However, pollution levels are high in Harike.The water body is
stinking due to industrial waste flowing into Beas and Sutlej rivers.
Conservator,
Wildlife, Sanjeeva Pandey, who recently visited Harike to study
migratory pattern of birds, said bird arrival at Harike has declined
considerably owing to decrease in nesting areas on the lake shore.
"One can see a
rare phenomena here. At a time, 40,000 to 50,000 common pochard could
be seen flying in this region," Pandey, who camped at bird sanctuary
for the threeday census told HT.
Ninty one
species of migratory birds, including a big chunk of 42,200 common
pochards (diving ducks) at one point of the tail end of the lake near
Dehra Gopipur, have thronged the lake.
According to the
census undertaken by Forest Department from January 15 to 17 in
association with ornithologists from across the country at Pong Dam,
40,000 bar headed geese (that accounts for two third of the total
known population of this bird in the world), and 10,000 Pin Tail water
fowls were spotted.
"Thirty Shell
Ducks, though common, are the new visitors at Pong dam this year,
while 21,000 common coots and 8,050 great common cormorants are also
roosting at Pong waters this year," said S.K. Guleria, Divisional
Forest Officer, Wild d Life, Hamirpur, who coordis nated the event.
The Last year 95,000 birds, comprising 89 different species, had
arrived at the lake for nesting. During the census, the entire lake
had been divided into 21 different segments. Teams come prising of
four to five persons a were allotted one segment each for bird
counting. "We conduct this census every year to prot vide
conservation education. It is also a management input for
protection and propagation of , birds," said Pandey, who headed the
exercise.
l Pandey was the
one to start n the census of Siberian birds l visiting Pong lake in
1984, when he was posted as Divisional h Forest Office, Dehra. "In
Pong s dam lake, birds get draw down e area, when water recedes after
its release for electricity and e irrigation. It creates habitat s and
feeding area for the birds, the mud spits and sand bars," he
said.
