Hurdles abound for migratory birds

At whatever moment you read these words, there are birds aloft in the skies, migrating. A skein of geese, a stand of flamingoes, a cast of falcons, all bound for a destination which promises warmer weather, abundant food or a chance to find a partner. Migration is indeed, “the one truly unifying natural phenomenon in the world, stitching the continent together in a way that even the great weather systems, which roar out from the poles but fizzle at the equator, fail to do,”as Scott Weidensaul describes in one of his books.

The fact that delicate looking creatures such as the birds can take monumental journeys across the planet for days and months in itself proves how significant a role migration plays in our natural world. And yet, rather than being in awe of this magnanimous feat of the birds, humans have begun to make these journeys more challenging and in some cases life threatening for the birds. From climate change, habitat destruction to hunting, the modern day bird migration has hurdles abound for the avians.

The world travellers
Every spring, flocks of bar-headed geese fly from India through the Himalayan range, above the tallest mountain in the world – the Mount Everest, on their way to their nesting grounds in Tibet. They are capable of flying through the passes of the highest mountains at heights of 12,000 to14,000 feet with winds that blow at speeds of more than 200 mph and temperatures low enough to freeze exposed flesh instantly. At this height, oxygen levels drop by one-third; even kerosene cannot burn there and helicopters cannot fly. And yet, an invisible signal triggers flocks and flocks of the geese to migrate more than 1,000 miles in a single day.

A small white bird, the Arctic tern, undertakes the longest-known bird migration in the world — around 72,000 km — linking the Arctic to the Antarctic in its circumpolar flight. From the Amur region of Russia, northern China and Mongolia, the Amur Falcon sets out for South Africa 24,000 km away with a pit stop here in India. For centuries, the island called Hanj Bet in the Rann of Kutch has become ideal breeding grounds for greater flamingoes coming in batches to bring the next generation to the world in the salty marshes. Khichan, a small village near Jodhpur, Rajasthan, comes alive every winter with a congregation of 12,000 to 15,000 Demoiselle Cranes. The Tungabhadra Dam in Karnataka provides ample mud banks, islands and islets for the birds like northern shoveler, ruddy shelduck, Eurasian wigeon, whiskered tern etc to congregate. Across India, wetlands, lakes and small water bodies provide a brief stopover or an all-winter residence for birds crossing nations and continents. According to Dr Girish Chandra, ex-professor of zoology in Delhi University, in India and South Asia, out of over 2,000 species and sub-species, about 350 are migrants. It is estimated that over 100 species of migratory birds fly into India.

Siberian cranes, greater flamingo, ruff, black-winged stilt, common teal, common greenshank, northern pintail, wagtail, northern shoveler, great white pelican, gadwall, sandpipers, Eurasian wigeon, black-tailed godwit, spotted redshank, starling, bluethroat, long-billed pipit, Amur falcon, swallows: the list of migrating birds is endless. Unsurprisingly, so is the list of perils that come their way during the birds’ epic journey.

A perilous journey
Migration is not an easy feat for any bird — big or small. The most common and often deadly threats to migratory birds include exhaustion, starvation, attack of predators, and running into natural disasters like hurricanes, flood, thunder storms and wildfires. Many times, it is sheer inexperience of the young birds that adds to their woes. Juveniles often may stray from the migration route if unaccompanied by an adult and might end up without food or shelter. In modern times, however, it isn’t the challenges set by nature which create the major obstacles that the birds are perhaps genetically tuned to face and overcome. It is the challenges thrown at them by humans.

In the saline flats of Gujarat the greater flamingoes accidentally collide with or get electrocuted by high-tension cables and telephone lines that pass over their breeding grounds in the Rann of Kutch. In the North-east, Amur falcons resting before their flight to Africa have been known to be captured with large nets and hunted. Wetlands like the Okhla Bird Sanctuary right in the middle of urban buildings in Delhi NCR might look like an idyllic location for city dwellers to connect with nature, but its pristine ambience is lost everyday with tonnes of garbage dumped into the waters and the wetlands reclaimed by land sharks to build more high rises. India’s world renowned Keoladeo National Park (formerly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, what once was the only known wintering site for Siberian cranes in India, hasn’t seen the bird in the last 15 years.

The greatest threat to all migrant birds is climate change. Like a silent demon unleashed on their ecosystems, their food supplies, their health and their reproductive ability, the warming planet is creating irrevocable damages in the lives of all of the birds whose very reason to migrate is to find perfect temperature conditions for feeding and breeding. According to a 2013 research conducted by Birdlife International, at least 45% and up to 88% of 370 species of migratory birds of Asia will have no habitat to go to in the coming years if Earth continues to get warmer. Additionally, the ideal habitat for the birds might not be a protected site, but a place already under pressure from human inhabitation. Under such circumstances, the need to accommodate and live in harmony with the avian visitors would be the only way that the birds may continue to exist.

Helping hand
It is said that the local Jain community residing in Khichan village, Rajasthan started a practice years ago. Daily, the villagers would put out grains for birds to feed on while they flew past the village. These places were called Chuggaghar (quite literally it means bird seed house) and from a few dozens, now thousands of Demoiselle Cranes make sure to stop, rest and refuel before alighting on the journey further south. What was once an annual massacre for Amur Falcons in north east villages has now slowly turned into a massive conservation success due to community empowerment and engagement movements run by many civil society organisations and the Forest Department.

If we want to, it is indeed within our capacity to keep the air, land and water safe for the visitors. In the words of Sir David Attenborough, “Birds were flying from continent to continent long before we were. They reached the coldest place on Earth, Antarctica, long before we did. They can survive in the hottest of deserts. Some can remain on the wing for years at a time. They can girdle the globe. Now, we have taken over the earth and the sea and the sky, but with skill and care and knowledge, we can ensure that there is still a place on Earth for birds in all their beauty and variety — if we want to… and surely, we should.”