"Whoever is merciful even to a sparrow, Allah will be merciful to him on the Day of Judgment.”
As inclement weather conditions are likely to prevail in valley, the harsh winter doesn't only bring hardships to the common people but to the birds who find it difficult to survive in crucial winter months.
Winter is a very severe time for birds and they face many difficulties to survive in crucial winter months. The birds usually face food scarcity in winters.
The birds usually face food crisis in winter and it gets severe when snow covers the fields.
It is usually seen in winters that the fields particularly paddy fields get covered with snow, one of the major natural sources of these birds to feed themselves as they eat the leftover grains. However, when it is covered with snow the birds find difficult to survive. The birds though have acquired some adaptive behaviors that help them survive, but the harsh winters effect them and they rely on artificial feeding.
There is a food shortage for these birds in winter months mostly because the snow covers fields and other places. The birds mostly rely upon humans for survival during these crucial months as seen and observed. Many rarely found birds are also seen coming to human habitations from forest areas in search of food.
Commonly available items in the household like rice, wheat, crushed maize, oats etc may be layered over snow for the birds to eat.
Also the migratory birds who arrive in different parts of the valley to stay in different wetlands here also find it difficult to survive.
Due to freezing temperatures and freezing of wetlands these avian guests shift their usual winter habitat from wetlands to other warm areas.
In earlier times the migratory birds used to visit even remote paddy fields of Kashmir to feed on leftover grains. But that habit was not noticed anymore for many reasons including habitat loss due to development and industrialisation.
In the valley, fresh snowfall and freezing temperatures have set in, signalling harsh winters. The netizens have been asking people to feed birds during these months so that they survive without any difficulty.
The bird lovers have also urged people to leave some grains or leftover food at suitable places for these birds so that they don't face any difficulty in searching food for survival.
Bird watchers though believe that it is good to feed birds during such a disruption but we should avoid feeding birds all the time as it disrupts their physiology and in fact can cause various metabolic disorders in birds.
An advisory cum appeal to the general public was issued by animal husbandry department last year asking people to offer feeding like grains and other food items to birds.
"In view of the inclement weather conditions that are expected to worsen over the coming days, the naturally available feeds for birds may get concealed temporarily due to snow. As such an appeal is extended to general public to feed the birds by offering them whatever they can afford", reads the advisory issued by animal husbandry department to general public last year.
"Commonly available items in the household like rice, wheat, crushed maize, oats seeds etc., may be layered over snow for the birds to eat", it further said.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.
