Excelsior Correspondent
GHARANA (Jammu), Dec 7: After covering thousands of miles, flock of migratory birds commonly known as Siberian Birds the messengers of peace have arrived at Gharana Wetland situated close to Indo-Pak international border in Ranbir Singh Pura sector here.
A habitat for migratory birds arriving from Siberia, Central Asia, China, East Europe and New Zealand, Gharana Wetland remains center of attraction for the visitors for nearly two-months from December to February.
Nearly 1,000 to 1500 migratory bird species including 310 water bird species have thronged the wetland, an official here said.
Gharana Wetland Conservation Reserve in R S Pura sector also attracts hundreds of migratory birds every winter including the bar headed goose a bird of unique high altitude migration that fly over high passes of Himalaya, even Mt Everest , during their sojourn.
The wetland attracts the guests due to its ecological diversity of flora and fauna and aquatic vegetation. Gharana is also considered as winter home for magnificent Northern Cardinal famous for red gear and orange beak.
An official said that ‘Raj Hans’ flies over the Himalayas from their breeding grounds in Central Asia to escape the cold weather and breed in the warm weather of Jammu.
Although the border residents earlier use to bust crackers and fire gun shots in air to disturb the assembling of birds claiming that they damage their standing crops but with an intervention of the High Court, check was laid on such practice aiming to allow these migratory guests arrive at Gharana.
Many rare species of avian also settle here permanently and hatch eggs in their nests, he added. Meanwhile the visitors especially the school children, who were being brought here to have a glimpse of migratory birds, rued poor facilities at the spot particularly the road connectivity.
The wetland is just few metres away from the Pakistan border so we cannot make larger arrangements on the spot and our attempt is also to prevent heavy rush of visitors at a time as safety measure, a local manning the wetland expressed.
Bird species like bar-headed geese, gadwalls, common teals, Purple swamp hens, Indian moor hens, black-winged stilts, cormorants, egrets, green shanks are attracting the visitors these days to this place.
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