Pulwama, Jan 1: A wildlife official has sighted rare species of a migratory bird in this South Kashmir district.
The bird, Black Stork was spotted in a paddy field of Kachachkote village by, Wildlife Warden Shopian-Pulwama, Intesar Suhail on December, 26.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Suhail said, “This is the first ever authentic record of this bird species being spotted in Kashmir, although it is known to visit some wetlands of Ladakh. But sighting of this rare bird in the Valley is significant”
 Suhail, an avid bird watcher and wildlife photographer, who also managed to click the rare bird, said that its sighting here underlines the importance of Kashmir as a vital bird migration flyway.
Black Stork (scientifically called Ciconia Nigra) is known as a strong long distance migrant. In summer it breeds in Siberia, China, Central Europe, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Greece and in the winter migrates to tropical Africa and South Asia.
Recent studies have shown an alarming decline in the number of this species in India. As per the findings published in the European Scientific Journal, BIOTA, in the last decade there has been a 65 per cent reduction in the population of Black Storks that visit India. The study identifies the encroachment of wetlands, excessive fishing, droughts and water pollution as the prime risks faced by this bird on its wintering grounds in India.
Incidentally, according to Suhail, the spot where the bird was sighted is only a few meters away from the Panzpora Jheel, a wetland which till recently attracted huge numbers of migratory waterfowl, but is now fast vanishing due to rampant encroachment from all sides by the locals who have converted the once vast expanses of the water body into paddy fields.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 1 Jan 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 1 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 2 Jan 2012 00:00:00 IST