By F. Ahmed, IANS,
Srinagar : Large flocks of cackling geese and ducks dot the evening sky in Kashmir these days. They herald the arrival of avian visitors from far off Siberia, Eastern Europe, the Philippines and China at their winter home.
Each year tens of thousands of these majestic navigators come to Kashmir to ward off the extreme cold of their summer homes. “This year, so far we have around 600,000 migratory birds in Hokarsar, Hygam, Mirgund, Shallabugh and other bird sanctuaries of the Valley,” said an official of the wildlife protection department here.
“With each passing day, more birds are arriving to inhabit their winter homes in the water bodies of the Valley that have played host to these beautiful creatures for hundreds of years.”
Graylag geese, ducks, teals, coots, shovellers, pochards and wigeons are the major species of migratory birds that come to Kashmir each winter to spend nearly six months here.
It is not just the officials of the local wildlife protection department that eagerly await and monitor the arrival of migratory birds in the Valley.
Many local bird lovers also impatiently look forward to the arrival of these migratory birds whose masterly flights in the winter skies amuse elders and children alike.
“My favourite pastime for more than 50 years has been to watch the arrival of the migratory birds. The flight of these birds is so systematic and organised that even the best flight managers of the modern world can learn a thing or two from them,” said Master Habibullah, 67.
He lives near the Shallabugh bird sanctuary in north Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
“The eldest gander, who has already navigated the journey for the last few years, leads the flock and others follow the leader. These hardy souls travel thousands of miles to reach Kashmir from their summer homes,” he said.
“The journey is so taxing that on an average the goose loses more than half its weight from the beginning of the flight to its final destination.
“Like perfectly worked out flight maps, the geese and ducks chart their course breaking their journey only at places where they had been during last year’s flight. It is unbelievable, but true that most of the journey is completed by these fliers without much food and water.”
The ardent bird lover has been taking his sons and grandchildren to the Shallabugh bird sanctuary for many years to watch the habits and the feeding patterns of migratory birds.
“They are so well organised that they feed in flocks while some of them maintain vigil against predators and human interference,” he said.
Dispelling fears of migratory birds carrying infections to the Valley, senior veterinarian Bashir Ahmad said, “They have to travel thousands of miles to reach here and it is only the fittest and most healthy that can make it.
“Our experience with the migratory birds during the last few years since bird flu cases came to notice in other countries has been that not a single case of bird flu has been reported here.”
Sitting in his home surrounded by his grandchildren, Master Habibullah almost every evening tells them duck tales of his childhood and youth.
“There is a great lesson for the youth in these apparently amusing stories. The existence of humankind and these wonderful birds is intrinsically linked to each other, the well-being of the birds is a biological scale to measure whether all is well with humankind or not,” said Master Habibullah.
(F. Ahmed can be contacted at [email protected])