Are we losing bird species in J&K?

Greater Kashmir , Sunday, January 22, 2017
Correspondent :
Hey! ‘You may have more in common with pigeon than you realize’.

Recent Research has shown that many high cognition areas in brain of Pigeon are similar to that of humans. There is an intricate relationship between birds and humans, which range from simple curiosity and stereoscopic observation to large scale exploitation. Perceptions with regard to the presence of birds among different people differ-there are people for whom Birds can be a fun, while for others they are just the part of the natural scenery. The beautiful sounds which they produce have soothing effect on your mind set. They are not only flying creatures but can also help to lift your spirits. From time immemorial Birds have fascinated humans through their versatile movements in air without any difficulty. For a few seconds think life without Birds. Realistically, we cannot think life without birds as they have been part and parcel of our daily schedule.

The days are gone when there were countless numbers of birds in existence and it was hard to believe life without birds. Now-a-days it is unusual for us to hear the beautiful and fascinating sounds of birds which at one time fill the air. The valley of Kashmir is not an exception to the above fact as it was rich in ornithological diversity more than 100 years ago. Even Kashmiri’s were tagged as Bird lovers though with little know how about these creatures by Walter R. Lawrence in his famous book “The Valley of Kashmir”. “Though knowing little about birds, the people of Kashmir, the coming of Swallow Katij and the Golden Oriole, Poshnal signaled the start of spring”- Walter R. Lawrence (1895). However, many birds common during Dogra regime have gone either rare or extinct. For example, Blue Heron, Breg was known to be very common during mid and late 1800 AD, are now rarely watched by people. The credit for compiling native bird fauna of Kashmir goes to Samar Chand Koul (1939) who is known to have given the proper nomenclature to these birds. The estimates from various sources show sharp decline in bird population in past few decades. In 2015, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released a list of 180 species of birds which are now threatened. This is the clear indicator of threat to bird species posed by various factors. So, what has happened to bird fauna which was once a part of Kashmiri culture.

It has been estimated in past that there are 250-300 bird species in J&K and several of them are summer migrants(source: Book by Parvaiz Dewan). However, S.C. Koul (1939) reported only 90-100 species of native birds of Kashmir.We have already lost many species of birds which were reported in “The Valley of Kashmir” and other reports which were published during Dogra period. The Lervalerva, the Snow Patridge was reported by Lawrence in Gilgit and in Aardwan and the Lidder Valley by others. Similarly, four species of genus columba (Pegion) was reported by the W. Lawrence of which one or two are now seen by local people. The Himalayan Whistling Thrush (Lawrence’s The Song Thrush of Kashmir) or Hazar Dastan, which once catched the attention of locals and foreigners is now rarely spotted in rural areas. There are many other bird species which have been reported by renowned ornithologists, who visited the valley during British era, and now they have either gone extinct or their number has gone down. Even birds like owl feared and associated with witchcraft and medicine, are not showing their appearance these days. The hoot of a owl which was considered as the early warning for imminent danger, are hardly heard.

There are various factors which are responsible for the decline of bird population including rapid urbanization, habitat destruction, concrete building construction, electrocution, mobile towers and climate change. Recent surveys on Avi fauna have shown that rapid urbanization and mobile towers are major contributors for the decline of some of the bird species, though one cannot rule out the importance of other predictors as bird research is still in its infancy.

Different bird surveys which have been carried in different parts of India show a grim situation. One of the surveys carried by the Bombay Natural History Society in collaboration with Ministry of Environment and Forestry (2012) showed that sparrow population are showing drastic decline in their population due rapid urbanization. The micro wave radiations emitted from cell phone towers are believed to be responsible for the disappearance of sparrows due to the electromagnetic fields (SainudeenPattazhy, 2014). In Kashmir rapid installation of cellular towers in last 10 years without proper guidance could be one of the reasons for the decline of bird population in Kashmir. In addition, the electric transmission lines including HT lines represent a great risk for electro-location in birds, with crows, eagles and swallows being particularly vulnerable. Even low voltage power poles can have damaging effects on the sensitive birds.

Swallows-the most revered birds in Kashmir is hardly spotted in and around human habitations. The irony is that our young generation, especially those born after 1990’s are unaware about the most revered Bird of Kashmir whose droppings were also considered as medicine for treating the common ailments. The old folks, who enjoyed their life in the company of beautiful swallows, are highly concerned about the rapid decline of these heavenly creatures, and they correlate the rarity of these with the bad deeds of people. If the situation remains same for another decade, then people of Kashmir may have to visit Europe to enjoy the beautiful chirpings of birds. The concrete building construction and netted windows are major hurdle for these birds to built their nest, and has been a major cause for the decline of swallow population, although alteration of agricultural land and the habitat fragmentation cannot be ruled out. The urbanization has further aggravated the situation as birds like swallow have now been wiped out due to destruction of their natural habitat.

As mentioned above, we are on the verge of losing our bird fauna. It is imperative that authorities in J&K should enforce stringent laws to ensure the protection of habitat of birds. Otherwise all our efforts will be in vain as is rightly said by Jay Inslee “What is a bird without a tree to a nest in”.

Various steps are needed to find the immediate remedy for resolving the crisis of bird decline. First up, government needs to start fresh survey of birds of J&K by involving ornithologists of great repute. By surveying the bird fauna we will be able to assess the current status of every native species of J&K. At community level, we need to build traditional houses (pseudo houses) solely meant for specific bird species so that there is no hindrance to the nest building. There is a need of technical rehabilitation measures in those areas where the risk of electrocution of birds is very high. For this purpose, state government should not allow national power agencies to establish transmission lines of high voltage across those areas where there is possibility of maximum encounter between birds and electric lines. The government need enforce stringent laws to avoid large scale alterations in agricultural and forest land because this will be helpful for restoring the natural habitats of various bird species. Finally, state government should make separate authority like J&K Bird Association (JAKBA) for the conservation and management of bird fauna.

 
SOURCE : http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/are-we-losing-bird-species-in-j-k/239294.html
 


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