Wildlife Filmmaker,, Ahmer Ali Rizvi, saying:
"I am a passionate wildlife explorer and filmmaker. I've been doing this since my childhood, and I love to watch migratory birds that come to the wetlands of Sindh every winter."
"Surprisingly, a large number of pochard ducks have arrived at this lake this winter. And another thing I have observed, the birds have stayed longer this year, maybe due to meagre disturbance by humans due to the lockdown everywhere."
Eurasian Curlew running in mud
Black Kite perched on hillside
Little Cormorants perched on treetops
Black Drongo sitting on a branch
Sandpiper Standing in grass
Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse walking through rugged land
Mallards and Common Pochards swimming in lake
Provincial Conservator of Sindh Wildlife Department, Javed Ahmed Mahar, saying:
"People are normally found saying that wildlife has taken a breath of relief during these lockdowns because, and I will speak from two contexts. So if it is illegal trade which is in the domestic markets, some trappers go to wild areas and they trap birds and sell in the markets, so it is completely in fact no more there during these lockdowns."
"The illegal trade in the domestic markets is no more. Well, fairly speaking, illegal huntings, there is not a single event during these lockdowns we have recorded, and during these lockdowns Sindh Wildlife Department remained engaged in surveying."
Van loaded with baskets of birds that have been confiscated from poachers
Various wildlife works releasing Falcons that were seized from illegal bird traders
Provincial officials in Pakistan's southeastern Sindh province say migratory birds are flocking to wetlands in greater numbers - and lingering in them for longer - amid lockdown measures that have kept hunters and bird catchers confined to their homes.
Each year, more than a million birds stop in Pakistan en route from Siberia to India. Among them - pelicans, mallards, cranes and waders.
Veteran wildlife photographer Ahmer Ali Rizvi says coronavirus measures have helped the birds setlle in.
"The birds have stayed longer this year, maybe due to meagre disturbances by humans due to the lockdown everywhere," he said.
A survey conducted this year found 741,042 migratory birds in Sindh province, a huge leap from the 248,105 birds found in 2019, said Sindh Wildlife Department's provincial conservator, Javed Ahmed Mahar. Each year, approximately 40 percent of Sindh's wetlands are surveyed to gain insight into the migratory patterns and numbers of birds.
Pakistan has been fluctuating between various lockdown measures since March in an effort to contain the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives.
Mahar said he could not pinpoint the exact reason for the change in numbers, but the fact the birds are staying in the area longer than usual could be attributed to the lockdown.
"The illegal trade of the birds in the domestic markets is no more," he said.
Mahar added that authorities have not recorded any wildlife-related crimes such as trapping, hunting or illegal trading in the province since the closures began. Hunting has been a problem in the area, threatening several rare species, including the houbara bustard.
There are more than 33 wildlife sanctuaries and one national park in Sindh province, which is home to more than 300 bird species.
(c) Sindh Wildlife Department
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