Migratory bird arrivals at Punjab's Harike wetland decline this season, latest census shows

Harike, northern India’s largest westland, witnessed a decline of 12% from 2021 in migratory birds arrival

The arrival of migratory birds this year to Harike, northern India's largest wetland, declined 12% from 2021, according to the latest census of these water birds.

The Forest and Wildlife Preservation department census counted 65,624 birds from 85 species at Harike, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) India Coordinator Gitanjali Kanwar said.

Every winter, 90 species of migratory birds from Siberia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia, among others, arrive at the wetland site once the water bodies in their native places start to freeze.

In 2021, the census recorded 74,869 migratory birds from 88 species. The year before, 91,025 from 90 species were counted. There was no census in 2022 due to COVID-19.

In 2018 and 2019, 94,771 birds of 94 species and 1,23,128 birds of 83 species arrived at the wetland site, respectively.

The reason behind the decline in migratory bird arrivals this year is yet to be ascertained. Whether the drop is at a global or a regional level is yet to be seen, Ms. Kanwar said.

Punjab witnessed fewer migratory bird arrivals at all wetlands this year, she added.