Srinagar, Oct 15: The Asian Water Bird Census 2025 recorded 13,43,506 birds across Kashmir’s wetlands.
Just four sites account for almost all of them, according to data released by the Wetlands Division of the Department of Wildlife Protection in reply to an RTI application.
The census covered 87 species of birds – Hokersar recorded about 4.03 lakh birds and Shallabugh about 3.96 lakh.
Wular Lake followed with about 2.96 lakh and Hygamhad about 1.99 lakh.
According to an analysis of the department’s site-wise figures by Greater Kashmir, and going by the department’s site-wise totals, these four wetlands hold about 96 percent of all birds counted.
The details have been provided as reply to an RTI questionnaire by RTI activist MM Shuja.
The other wetlands recorded far fewer birds – Mirgund had about 23,000 birds and Dal Lake about 13,400.
Chatlam recorded about 3600, while Anchar Lake, struggling with encroachment and pollution, has about 1160 birds only.
The count at Kranchoo, Freshkhoori and Manibugh was miniscule, a few hundred each.
The Eurasian Teal, locally known as Keos was the most numerous species found with about 2.92 lakh counted.
Roughly it is one in every four to five birds recorded (about 22 percent) in these wetlands.
The Eurasian Teal is one of the smallest shallow water ducks and is a winter visitor that breeds across northern Eurasia.
It arrives in Kashmir’s wetlands in large flocks. It was the most numerous bird in the 2025 census, Hokersar appears to account for about 1.36 lakh of these.
The Mallard followed with about 2.26 lakh, the Northern Shoveler about 2.10 lakh, Northern Pintail about 1.67 lakh and the Gadwall about 1.39 lakh.
These five species alone account for roughly 10.3 lakh birds., and 77 percent of the total count.
Other species in large numbers were the Eurasian Moorhen (about 1.01 lakh), the Eurasian Coot (about 93,400) and the Eurasian Wigeon (about 72,400).
Hokersar alone was found to be hosting about 63,700 of the coots.
About 17,500 Grey-headed Swamphen, a marsh bird were counted.
Common Pochard, Greylag Goose, Red-crested Pochard were fund to be numbering a few thousand.
Several species were recorded in very small numbers, among these are the Common Merganser and Baillon’s Crake.
The Census spotted two each of these.
The census table provided in the RTI also lists a single Pallas’s Fish-Eagle, 16 Bar-headed Geese, 239 Marbled Teal and 90 Ferruginous Pochard.
Birds of prey and other non-waterfowl species like Peregrine Falcon, the Western Marsh Harrier, the Black Kite, the White-capped Water Redstart, the Brown Dipper, kingfishers and wagtails also figure in the list.
In its reply, the Wetlands Division said the officially conducted census has consistently recorded 12-13 lakh migratory water birds annually.
It has been cited this as an indicator of the “ecological recovery” of the wetlands, attributable to the removal of about 1.2 lakh cubic metres of silt through auction-based desilting.
In addition, clearing of weeds and reeds, new embankments and sluice gates, and the restoration of peripheral channels at Hokersar has also made a positive impact, the department said.
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