1. A CASE STUDY TO DEMONSTRATE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF A VIBRANT RURAL POND HUB FOR OVER HUNDRED WINTER MIGRATORY BIRDS UP TO 2005 AD BY ROHTASH CHAND GUPTA AND TIRSHEM KUMAR KAUSHIK

• Main Author: AND TIRSHEM KUMAR KAUSHIK, ROHTASH CHAND GUPTA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PAAVAN EDUCATION TRUST 2012
• Subjects: Actitis hypoleucos; Anas acuta; Common Sandpiper
• Online Access: https://petsd.org/ojs/index.php/lifesciencesleaflets/article/view/289

The destruction of age old rural pond in Haryana and elsewhere is widespread in a surreptitious manner,or else, sometimes inadvertently too. The present case study refers to a very vibrant pond in village“Raipur-Rodan” in Karnal district on National Highway No 1; 15 Kms down south of Pipli(Kurukshetra). The pond was spotted accidently in Feb-2005 and has been followed up to summer of2011. In all, a total of 64 species of wetland birds belonging to 10 orders and 17 families were seen fromthe Raipur village pond in Karnal district. Out of these 64 species of birds, 33 species were WinterMigratory, 18 species resident, 10 species Local Migratory and 3 species were Summer Migratory.Further, 36 species of wetland birds were Common, 17 species Uncommon, 6 species very Common and5 species of wetland birds were rare. In February, 2005, the birds observed included Northern ShovellerAnas clypeata, Northern Pintail Anas acuta, Common Teal Anas crecca, Bar-headed Goose Anserindicus, Greylag Goose Anser anser, Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, Common Pochard Aythya ferina, SpotbilledDuck Anas poecilorhyncha, Garganey Anas querquedula, Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope,Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos, Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus and Common RedshankTringa totanus amongst several others. Observations reveal that extra ordinary wetland birds seen during2005-11 were marked by the presence of Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus, Black Ibis Pseudibis papillosa,Bar-headed Goose, Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos, Mallard, Garganey, Common Pochard, WhitetailedLapwing Vanellus leucurus, Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus, Common Greenshank Tringanebularia and Pallas Gull Larus ichthyaetus. The condition of this vibrant pond was allowed to descendinto a doom gradually quite inadvertently. The important negative features that started as part of theponds decimation included its siltation and the decision of the village Panchayat to drain down the age oldwaters of this pond into a deep gorge nearby. Today the principal pond is a plain ground: a ...