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| A Bar-headed Goose at the Basai Wetland |
Today when I visited the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon, I spotted a pair of Bar-headed Geese. It was a welcome sight though I was disappointed to see only one pair! I had spotted at least fifty of them about three years back. It is quite clear that Bar-headed Geese have begun to avoid the Basai Wetland because it is no longer viable for them to nest thanks to the shrinking size of the wetland. The steady drainage of the wetland and other construction activities have played their toll. Some of the larger birds like the Sarus Crane and the Woolly-necked Stork are rarely to be seen in the area.
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| A pair of Bar-headed Geese at the Basai Wetland |
The presence of merely a pair of Bar-headed Geese instead of many more is an indication of changing times. The steady destruction of wildlife habitats, green areas and wetlands are forcing a change in the migratory patterns of birds flying across continents. Unfortunately, neither the Government nor wildlife organizations in the country are bothered about preserving biodiversity hotspots like the Basai Wetland and even the Damdama Lake close to the town of Sohna.
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A Bar-headed Goose flies against the backdrop of a statue
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The photograph I have posted above is evocative of the situation in the city of Gurgaon, a city that is steadily clearing up forests and wetlands to make way for the construction of highrises that will house the burgeoning of the city. As a result of shrinking biodiversity hotspots in the region, there is a scarcity of food for the migratory birds that fly in from across continents. This is clear, looking at the fewer numbers of Bar-headed Geese arriving at the wetland. Demographic changes leading to the destruction of important ecosystems have resulted in a change of migratory patterns of birds since pre-historical times.
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| A Bar-headed Goose at the Basai Wetland |
It is high time something was done to reverse the damage being done to the environment in Gurgaon. Unless we do something to preserve our Biodiversity hotspots, long-distance migratory birds like the Bar-headed Geese will soon become rare sightings. The Siberian Crane has never been sighted for years and that speaks volumes about the changes taking place in the environment.
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| A Pair of Bar-headed Geese at the Basai Wetland |
We all know that of all the migratory birds that we know, Bar-headed Geese are the only birds that can fly at a height of about 20,000 feet that too in conditions where lack of enough Oxygen would soon make life impossible. They are also the only birds that can fly over the towering Himalayas to reach the plains in Northern India to breed in relatively warmer environs during the months of November and December. As such, Bar-headed Geese might are marvellous examples of migratory birds that have achieved an amazing feat of not only flying at high altitudes but also navigating across the massive Himalayan mountain ranges (which they have been doing for ages).
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| A pair of Bar-headed Geese fly across what remains of an ancient wetland |
In almost all of the photographs, the reader will notice the backdrop of buildings. Construction work and the presence of a large number of people in the vicinity have driven away the Bar-headed Geese from the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon. Looking at how fast development is taking place in the area, it is certain that nothing will remain of this important biodiversity hotspot.
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| Bar-headed Geese fly across what remains of an ancient wetland |
The prognosis is not good. We have damaged our wetlands very badly. What used to be once a vibrant and rich wetland that supported a number of indigenous species of fish and turtles has now become a mud pan of toxic mud, contaminated by sewage and construction waste. Soon, images of birds that come from far away places will become archives of times that once were.
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| Is this the last of the Bar-headed Geese? |
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