Few Birds, Late Arrival: Experts Say The Russia-Ukraine War, Climate Change Is Killing, Diverting Winter Migratory Birds From Asan Wetlands

By Teekam Verma

Vikasnagar: The Russia-Ukraine war, which has been going on for nearly four years, has already claimed the lives of thousands of people, and has had a devastating impact on the global economy. Now, ornithologists and bird watchers in Uttarakhand, who await the annual arrival of thousands of migratory birds in India, are saying that the war is also claiming the lives of these winter visitors.

The Asan Wetland is located in Dehradun district, at the confluence of the Yamuna and Asan rivers, which originate from Yamunotri. It is one of Uttarakhand's premier wetlands, making it an ideal habitat for both resident and migratory birds. It lies along the Central Asian Flyway for migratory birds, which is why thousands of birds visit it each year. Home to over 330 bird and 49 fish species, Asan was designated a Ramsar site in 2020.

Ornithologists are saying the air above Ukraine, which falls bang in the middle of the flightpath of hundreds of migratory bird species as they leave Siberia for India and further south, has become toxic due to the ammunition and missiles used in the war. Their poisonous gases are killing the birds in droves, as the numbers of winged visitors coming to India have kept decreasing over the past few years. This has also delayed their arrival.

Ornithologists say most of the birds that used to arrive at the Asan Wetland in Uttarakhand by the first week of October, reached the Asan lake in the middle of November last year. Among the nine species from the Russia-Ukraine region that nest in the Asan Wetland every winter, the number of Ruddy Shelducks from Siberia has been decreasing steadily since the war began.

In fact, they point out, that only five out of the nine bird species that were regulars at Asan, have arrived this season. The experts believe that explosions and pollution from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza are both proving fatal for migratory birds.

Pradeep Saxena, an expert from the Chakrata Forest Division, said the data indicates a decrease in the arrival of migratory birds, since the Russia-Ukraine war began in 2022. He said changes have also been observed in the arrival and departure times of these birds, especially those coming from Siberia and European countries.

Another contributing factor, experts say, is climate change. In the last four years, around 1,000 fewer birds that migrate from places like Central Asia, South Asia, Siberia, China, Kazakhstan, and Ladakh, have been observed at Asan.

Professor Dinesh Bhatt, an ornithologists who lives in Gurukul Kangri of Haridwar, agreed that the war is likely affecting the birds, even though he claimed that birds that come here are not from Ukraine, but from Siberia, adding that migratory birds from Ukraine fly to the Black Sea coast most often. He though said that with the entire region engulfed in bombing and missile attacks for a long time, it is likely that most of these birds are either dying, or have changed their migration routes.

"These birds are very sensitive. You must have seen that they fly away from trees even at the sound of a small firecracker. It's therefore likely that in an area facing continuous bombing, the birds have either changed their route or gotten killed," said Professor Bhatt.

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