VISIT TO GHARANA WETLAND ( BIRD WATCHER'S PARADISE)🍃🦅🕊🦩🍃

 WETLANDS.

Wetlands are defined as lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic eco-systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water.

• There are different types of wetlands : 

        1.Coastal Wetlands

        2.Shallow lakes and ponds

        3.Bogs

        4.Marshes and Swamps

        5. Estuaries.

GHARANA WETLAND.

     Ghar ana Wetland ( meaning welcome home ) is paradise of migratory birds.

• Gharana Wetland is also known as Bird Watcher's Paradise.

• Gharana and its adjoining wetlands of Makwal, Kukdian, Abdullian and Pargwal every year receive about 10000 to 20000 migratory birds in winter.All these wetlands are located along the border with Pakistan.

LOCATION.

Gharana wetland is located along the border in RS Pura tehsil of Jammu district about 30 kms from Jammu near Gharana village. 

• Gharana wetland is irregular in shape , covering approximately 1km² surface area and is situated in subtropical Jammu & Kashmir UT, North western India (~) 10 miles east of the Indo - Pakistan International border.

• It is surrounded by ' Gharana' village on its one half and by agricultural fields along its other side.

• The wetland lies along the Palaearctic - Oriental Migratory Route of aquatic birds and serves as a feeding, roosting and wintering grounds for many bird species from Central Asia.

• The wetland is declared as ' Important Bird Area' and is under J & K Wildlife Protection Act , 1978.

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS.

1. Bird Species :

The world's highest altitude migrants , Bar headed Goose is the highlight at Gharana Wetland .

• Bar headed Goose :- The migratory birds cover more than 1000 miles distance in a single day. These birds migrate to Gharana for a hospitable habitat from freezing temperatures of Central Asia.

• Some other famous birds in and around Gharana Wetland include 

1. Cattle egret
2. Black stork
3. Northern pintail
4. Common teal
5. Northern shoveler
6. Red- wattled lapwing
7. Rock pigeon
8. Ruddy shelduck
9. Laughing dove
10. Common sand piper
11. Black Duronto
12. Yellow wagtail
13. Red - vented bulbul
14. Bay- backed shrike etc.

2. Plant Species :

• Gharana is partially covered with various water plants such as :-

1. Water hyacinth
2. Eichhornia crassipes
3. Hyrilla spp.
4. Typha spp.

3. Marshy land at Gharana.

The notified wetland of Gharana , barring a small patch of marshy pond , and adjoining area , more or less comprises of agriculture fields.

• Paddy, a good quality basmati variety , is the major crop grown here.

• However , by the time the birds arrive in Gharana during winter , the tender shoots of wheat are already in place.

• Coupled with marshy patches and a variety of aquatic vegetation, probably qualifies the Gharana as the most sought after habitat of many bird species near Jammu town.

THREATS TO GHARANA WETLAND.

1.  Military activities:- Being located on the border , shelling by security people across the border is a constant problem.

2. Invasive species :- The wetland is infested with Water Hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes and Typha.

Most pernicious invasive weeds of India and has destroyed many wetlands.

3. Poaching:- Poaching though hunting has been banned here even then it was prevalent here till the last few years.

4.Enroachment :- Till now, no official demarcation exists between agriculture fields and the wetlands .This has progressively led to enroachments by the villagers.

This agricultural expansion has negatively affected the Wildlife especially the waterfowl.

5. Other threats and issues :-

• Basic facilities including road to the wetland is in most dilapidated condition .

• There are no arrangements for bird watchers  due to which the only guest house constructed by wildlife department of the state goverent gets crowded with tourists that threatens birds and their very existence.

• Various anthropogenic activities are carried out like cattle bathing, washing of vehicles , laundary, entry of domestic sewage, cattle waste , drawing of water by electric motor, hunting, fishing, expansion of agricultural fields towards wetland etc.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.

A field trip was organized by  Zoology department of our College on 4th December 2021. 

Being a resident of Jammu, i never visited this place though it takes only 30 minutes from my house. 

Because of this trip , i was able to explore such a mesmerizing place full of greenery all around and variety of birds and  chirping sound of birds all around.

Though i missed the opportunity to see Bar headed goose but i saw other birds.

There were variety of birds present but migratory birds were not present because they  usually migrate here during late December  and January.

Chirping sound of birds just gave immense joy.

Overall it was a worthy trip as we were able to visit such a beautiful place and also understood the importance of wetlands and also the threats that play a vital role in damaging Gharana Wetland.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

All pictures and vidoes are  taken by me and the information is gathered from  internet.

POSTED BY :

ADITI VERMA 

06-MSZ-20