KATHMANDU, Nepal-Various species of rare birds have already begun visiting Capital Kathmandu though winter season is yet to come. Numerous birds enlisted in the rare species made their arrival to Kathmandu valley unlike previous year due to climate change and global warming, bird experts informed.
Normally migratory birds used to visit Kathmandu in the beginning of September. ‘Due to climate change and global warming, many migratory birds have already visited Kathmandu prior to their common schedule,’ an official at Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) said.
According to Sujit Basnet, chairperson of Rare Bird Council, October is the peak season for migratory birds in Nepal.
During winter, more than 150 species of birds migrate to Nepal from different countries and spend up to 10 months in the country. They come all the way from Siberia, China, Mongolia, and Eastern Europe with the accomplishment of their breeding period.
The migratory birds in the valley basically spend their time at Taudaha wetland, which is spread over 4.7 hectors of land in Lalitpur district. Taudaha wetland houses from 250 to 300 guest birds in the peak season.
Nepal is a home to a total of over 864 bird species, including the migratory ones. In summer, Nepal hosts five dozen species of migratory birds.
Duck species like Ruddyshel, Mallard, Common Teal and Common coot, among others, visit Nepal mainly in winter season. Unfortunately, some of the migratory birds failed to return back their destination while some are just killed and a few of them missed their paths.
According to bird experts, the most remarkable winter migratory bird to come to the Valley is Grey Headed Lapwing.
The specific route for migratory birds is Kaligandaki Valley in the west and Arun Valley in the east.
