Migratory, rare birds spotted in Una wetlands

Rajesh Sharma

Una, February 2

Three migratory bird species have been spotted in the wetlands of the Gobind Sagar reservoir in Sutlej river in Una district. These include Bar headed geese, Black stork and Painted stork.

The lake was declared a “Water fowl refuge” in 1962.

According to the Forest Department sources, the Bar headed geese, which spends the summers near high-altitude lakes in Kazakhstan, Tibet, Mongolia and Russia, crosses the Himalayas and comes down to southern Asia, including India, in winters and reaches the banks of the Gobind Sagar reservoir in Una district where they stay for a few months before heading back to the highlands.

The bird, which is 28 to 30 inches long, is one of the highest flying birds, whose body has been physiologically and biochemically adapted to endure an atmosphere having 10 per cent oxygen compared to that prevailing at the sea level.

The other two bird species, namely Black stork, and Painted stork also migrate every year from Tibet to the Indus river system, including the Gobind Sagar reservoir on the Sutlej. The birds, nestling in the wetland, are a treat for bird watchers and nature enthusiasts.

As regards the Black stork, the bird, measuring 37 to 39 inches, migrates to South Asia, south of the Himalayas up to North East India. The Painted stork, the biggest of the three, is around 59 to 63 inches in size, and migrates during the winters to the Indus River system.

Divisional Forest Officer Sushil Rana, himself a bird watcher, said the wetland of the Pong dam reservoir hosts many species and a large number of birds every year during the winter season because of a wide stretch of plain grasslands. He said the Gobind Sagar reservoir was located between mountain peaks with less grassland around, adding that though small in number, migratory birds do come to the Gobind Sagar reservoir.

The DFO said this winter season, in the Swan river, he spotted 28 species of birds which migrated locally between the Indian sub-continent, Myanmar and Indonesia. Naming a few, he said Black-winged stilt having incredibly long legs, Little Cormorant with a distinctive fat head and a bill, River lapwing which nests on sand banks, Eastern Cattle-Egret of the heron species, Crested kingfisher whose size can reach up to 17 inches, have been spotted, though in small numbers.

Rana said river forest guards had been directed to create awareness among the locals regarding the importance of conservation and preservation of migratory birds and their habitats along the wetland. Cautioning against poaching of these birds, he said this attracts heavy punishment under the Wild Life Protection Act. He also cautioned the locals against littering waste or let loose domestic cats or dogs in the places where these birds have been nestling.