There is something rather fascinating about Bar-headed Geese that visit the Northern Plains of India during the winter months. What makes them distinct from other migratory birds is the fact that they are the only birds that can fly at a height of 20,000 feet, in a rarefied atmosphere that has very little Oxygen and besides that is the amazing length of their journey! While most of them migrate from Central Asia to the Indian plains, some of them might even have flown all the way from Mongolia.
How they manage these amazing feats has been a matter of scientific research. Imagine them flying unerringly over a flight path that extends of thousands of miles that too without the modern navigational systems employed by modern airliners. These amazing migratory birds follow the same routes year in and year out and what is more amazing is that they land up in the same spot to breed. The photographs in this post were taken at the Basai Wetland in the city of Gurugram (Gurgaon) in the state of Haryana close to the capital city of New Delhi.
I have been photographing these amazing birds for quite a few years now and I often notice how their numbers have fluctuated throughout the years, an indication, probably of the impact of climatic and environmental changes throughout the world. Their fluctuating numbers could also indicate changes in availability of food besides the changes in the size of wetlands and other ecosystems that would sustain a healthy population of Bar-headed Geese.
This year there has been a concern that some of the migratory birds visiting the Indian subcontinent might be infected with bird-flu and the authorities are keeping a strict watch on them. Last year a large number of migratory birds had died in some of the wetlands in the state of Rajasthan. I am glad to state that I did not spot any bird carcasses the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon, so I guess these Bar-headed Geese might have escaped contracting the disease.
rodrick's space 