Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. With the onset of winter season migratory birds arrive in Nepal to avoid freezing cold in the Northern hemisphere. Mid-September to late October is considered the peak migration time for such birds, however migration can continue till the end of November. More than 150 species of winter migratory birds from China, Mongolia, Korea, Siberian region of Russia and central Asia come to the southern plains with the beginning of winter.

Most of the birds that migrate to Nepal belong to duck species like mallard, ruddy shelduck, and gadwall. Eurasian teal, green shank, thrushes, fly catcher, booted eagle are other migratory birds that come to Nepal during winter. According to ornithologists, some of these birds fly up to 9,375 metres and weigh up to 2.5 kg.

Five migratory bird species that used to be common in Nepal about a decade-and-half ago have now stopped appearing in the country. Ornithologist Dr Hem Sagar Baral said Baer’s pochard, Eurasian curlew, Eurasian spoonbill, Pallas’s fish eagle, and Caspian tern had not been seen in Nepal since 2000. Programme officer at Bird Conservation Nepal Jyotendra Thakuri said the number of migratory birds had decreased by 75 per cent over the past 10 to 15 years inside Kathmandu valley which is the capital city of Nepal and The number is still declining rapidly due to increasing urbanisation in the valley and destruction of wetlands and forest areas.

World Bird Migratory Day Migration of bird is a long journey and involves a wide range of threats, often caused by human activities. And as diverse as people and their habits in different countries are, so are threats the birds face. Having wings does not help birds escape the threat of plastic. Birds with stomachs full of plastic entangled and smothered by plastic rings and nets are all too real consequences of the toll that plastic takes on wildlife. Every Year World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated every year on  theme aiming to raise awareness of issues affecting migratory birds and to inspire people and organizations around the world to take measures for their conservation and it was celebrated on May 11 and October 12 this year. This year’s theme was “Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution!”

In 1950 the world produced only 2 million tonnes per year. By 2015, annual production had increased nearly 200-fold, reaching 381 million tonnes. For context, this is roughly equivalent to the mass of two-thirds of the world population.1 Over the period from 1950 to 2015, cumulative production reached 7.8 billion tonnes of plastic — more than one tonne of plastic for every person alive today. (R. Geyer, 2017) Plastic Pollution are definitely impacting every possible organism o0n earth from the aquatic animals deep in the ocean to the birds flying high in the sky too. Migratory birds are also impacted by the pollution caused due to plastic and this years WBMD focus on the find solution to plastic pollution to protect birds.

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