Bandipora, Jan 23: The Long-tailed Duck, Clangulahyemalis, a rare duck species found in European and American continents and assessed as highly vulnerable on the IUCN Red list, has been sighted in Wular lake nearly after 84 years .
Coordinator Wular conservation and management authority (WUCMA) told Rising Kashmir that a group of five ducks were seen foraging in Wular lake on January 22 by field officials of WUCMA and they recorded its details on their field book and captured camera pictures of ducks.
He said that the pictures were shared with ornithologists for identification and it was discovered that the birds are in fact, rare migrants known as “Long Tailed Duck”.
The last record of this bird was reported from Hokersar lake Kashmir in 1939 as mentioned by F. Ludlow in a research paper published in “Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society”.
It is after 84 years that the bird has been spotted again in Kashmir and has been documented now. There are only a few sites in India which meet the “1% criteria” necessary for the survival and propagation of this duck species, Mudadir said.
Much to the delight of Ornithologists, the eco-restoration of Wular lake has created ray of hope, as record number of migratory birds have visited Wular lake, this year, Mudasir said adding that the rare sightings have been of Common Pochard, Red crested Pochard and Long tailed Duck apart from other common water birds normally seen in other wetlands.
The Wular lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes of Asia having area 130 sq km. The lake has a silt and willow infestation problem which is being mitigated by carrying out large scale earth excavation and willow removals.
As per official figures, an area of 4.5 sq km has been restored and the project is being executed in a phased manner.
