02 February 2019
All Pictures are owned
All pictures were taken at Uchali Lake Soon Valley
Given Pakistan’s
geographic location, we lie at the crossroads of the bird’s migration route.
They bring beauty and ecological benefits for our wetlands. One such spot is
the triple complex, which consists of the Uchali, Khabeki and Jhalar lakes
(Uchali being the biggest lake among covering an area of 950 hectares). The
triple complex was declared a Ramsar Site, a wetland of global importance in
1996, giving it the status of a wildlife sanctuary.
I visited Uchali Lake,
earlier in the month of February. The boatman told us that there were around four
hundred plus flamingos on lake. Watching flamingo flying and recording it with camera was one of the best experiences of my life.
With their pink and crimson plumage,
long legs and necks, and strongly hooked bills, flamingos cannot be mistaken
for any other type of bird. These beauties have long fascinated people. An
accurate cave painting of a flamingo, found in the south of Spain, dates back
to 5,000 B.C. Today, images of flamingos are found in the literature (Alice used
them as croquet mallets in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis
Carroll) and immortalized as plastic lawn ornaments
The flamingo’s pink or
reddish color comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments (like the
pigments of carrots) in the algae and small crustaceans the birds
eat. We eat carotenoids, too, whenever we munch on carrots, beets, and certain
other veggies, but not enough to turn us orange! American flamingos,
a subspecies of greater flamingo, are the brightest, showing their
true colors of red, pink, or orange on their legs, bills, and faces.
In order to fly,
flamingos need to run a few paces to gather speed. This speed is not related to
the ground but rather to the air, so they usually take off facing into the
wind. In-flight, flamingos are quite distinctive, with their long necks
stretched out in front and the equally long legs trailing behind. Their outstretched
wings showcase the pretty black and red (or pink) coloration that, with slight
variations, is shared by all flamingo species. When flying, flamingos flap
their wings fairly rapidly and almost continuously. And, as with most other
flamingo activities, they usually fly together in large flocks. The flamingos
follow each other closely, using a variety of formations that help them take
advantage of the wind patterns.
Flamingos are social
birds that live in groups of varying sizes, from a few pairs to sometimes
thousands or tens of thousands. Their numbers add to the impressiveness of
ritualized flamingo displays; the purpose of these displays is to stimulate
hormone production and ensure that as many birds as possible will breed.
Head-flagging: Stretching the neck
with head up high and rhythmically turning the head from side to side.
Wing salute: Showing off the
contrasting colors with the tail cocked and the neck outstretched.
Twist-preen: The bird twists its
neck back and appears to preen its feathers with its bill quickly.
Marching: The large, tightly
packed flock walks together as one, before switching direction
abruptly.
Flamingos also use
vocalizations and these displays to communicate between individuals or alert
the group of possible danger. Their vocal repertoire includes growling, low
gabbling, and nasal honking.
Scientists aren’t sure.
There is less heat lost through the leg if it is tucked next to the bird’s
body; however, this behavior is also seen in hot climates. Another explanation
is more mundane: it’s probably a comfortable position for standing. You can
develop your own theory about this age-old question on your next visit to the
Zoo or Safari Park, where the flamingos are always gorgeous and entertaining.
Flamingos live in lagoons or
large, shallow lakes. These bodies of water may be quite salty or caustic,
too much so for most other animals. In some lakes, their only animal
“neighbors” are algae, diatoms, and small crustaceans. That works in the
flamingo’s favor, as the birds dine on these small creatures!
Chilean, Andean, and puna flamingos are
found in South America; greater and lesser flamingos live in Africa, with
greater also found in the Middle East; the American or Caribbean
flamingo is native to Mexico, the Caribbean, and the northernmost tip of
South America.
Long legs let
flamingos wade into deeper water than most other birds to look for food. And
speaking of food, flamingos also have very distinctive eating habits. The bill
is held upside down in the water. Flamingos feed by sucking water and mud in at
the front of the bill and then pumping it out again at the sides. Here, briny
plates called lamellae act like tiny filters, trapping shrimp and other small
water creatures for the flamingo to eat.
The smaller puna,
Andean and lesser flamingos have deeper bills and stiff lamellae. This helps
them filter very fine particles, such as algae, through their bill and keep
bigger particles out. Greater and Chilean flamingos are larger and feed mostly
on invertebrates such as brine flies, shrimps, and mollusks. They get these
food items from the bottom mud by wading in shallow water. Sometimes they swim
to get their food and sometimes by “upending” (tail feathers in the air, head
underwater) like ducks.
More than 700,000 guest birds started
arriving in Pakistan through Indus Flyway, from Europe, Central Asian states, and India. Pakistan's wetlands are no exception to hosting enormous
biodiversity of migratory birds and some indigenous fauna. Each year, hundred
of thousands of birds including cranes, geese, ducks, swans, and waders migrate
between their breeding grounds in the north and wintering grounds in the south.
These birds include some of the magnificent species such as
demoiselle cranes and Eurasian cranes. Among them, the central population of
Siberian crane migrated until its extinction in 2002. Its western population,
migrating between Iran and Russia, is at the brink of extinction, while its
eastern population migrating between China and Russia is threatened with
alterations in its habitat that might be massive due to planned dams, official
sources in Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) told APP. The migration journey starts from Siberia to Pakistan and ends in India at Bharatpur. This
route is known in the international migration routes as `Indus Fly-way No 4' or
`Green Route', he added.
The distance covered by birds during migration is around 4500
kilometers. The migratory bird flies from Siberia to Afghanistan, Karakorum
range, across river Indus in Pakistan, and finally towards India. During their
journey, the birds make stopovers at lakes and water basins at Nowshera, Tanda
Dam in Kohat, Swat, Chitral, Punjab, and at Haleji, Keenjaar, and Lungsee lakes
in Sindh. The Wildlife Department, he said has taken a number of measures to
contain hunting of migratory birds and in this regard, work was done on
organizing communities along with river Kabul and Indus.
"Earlier, before 1970 there was no rule for the protection
of migratory birds. However, after Ramsar Convention in Iran and Bonn
Convention in Germany, laws to protect migratory birds were enacted".
About reasons behind migration, he said cold weather compel the birds to move
towards warmer areas, adding these birds have inherited a natural phenomenon of
moving from one place to another for reproduction purpose.
