KARACHI: “The silent departure of birds shows the city’s rapidly deteriorating environment. While many bird species have lost their habitat due to increasing pollution and so-called development, many bird species still exist in the rural areas and along the beaches of Karachi. We must save these last bird sanctuaries, which now face a serious threat from private developers.”

This is how Mirza Naim Beg, a wildlife photographer, responded when asked about the amazing collection of photos he displayed on Sunday in the premises of Mrs Haque Academy.

Titled ‘Disappearing birdlife in Sindh’, the exhibition showcases 30 photographs taken from Karachi, Kathore, parts of Gadap town, Tharparkar, Larkana, Tando Mohammad Khan and Mirpurkhas.

An avid photographer for the past three decades, Mr. Beg gradually developed an interest in wildlife photography and started photographing birds with his camera three years ago.

“We are losing all of our natural gifts and I think this is a great opportunity to capture them before we lose them all,” he said, adding that this is the second performance his father in Karachi about bird diversity.

Mr. Beg has recorded more than 275 species across the country, with about 180 species in Sindh alone. Over the years, he has been a frequent visitor to the interior areas of Sindh as well as the Margalla hills in Islamabad, Bhalwal and Kalar Kahar in Sargodha and Chakwal districts of Punjab, some of which still have a rich diversity of species. bird, he said.

However, an important feature of his collection is the recording of many beautiful birds in and around Karachi that the city seems to have lost long ago. His collection includes paintings of plovers, herons, sanderlings, gulls (at least four species), gray stilts, red-spotted lapwings, lesser white-throats, starlings (four species) rosy starlings, kestrels, steppe eagles, flamingos and painted storks, which come from Siberia in winter.

“I recorded more than 30 bird species, some of which had never been photographed before, such as the yellow-rumped bird and the gray Francolin’s tern during Housing Authority Phase 8 in Defense (DHA), where I lived in the past. eight years,” he pointed out.

He regretted that the bushes where these birds sheltered were cut down by DHA while carrying out its development activities. His proposal to establish a bird sanctuary did not receive attention from the authorities.

“Wildlife conservation is not a high-tech science. It can be as simple as not disturbing their habitat, which means not destroying the trees and bushes where they live. With the way construction is going on, DHA, Phase 8 will soon lose its bird diversity and will only be left with crows and kites,” he lamented.

He said that in developed countries, societies have taken special measures to protect wildlife habitats. This is so because these tiny creatures are an essential part of our ecosystem and play a vital role in keeping the ecosystem healthy.

Responding to a question about how he was able to find so many types of birds in Karachi, he said: “They are still around, although far from human settlements. I always say you won’t see them if you’re not looking for them. I work with local people, showing them photos and knowing where they still appear.”

According to him, a good place for bird watching is Kathore, nearly 20km from Toll Plaza, which is currently under serious threat due to large-scale construction by a private developer along the Expressway.

Rampant indiscriminate hunting is another reason for the decline in bird numbers and action is needed on the part of wildlife management agencies, he said.

“I have twice stopped trawlers trying to catch birds in Phase 8. Try stopping private developers from entering Kathore. Come forward to save your wildlife.

“As citizens, we can at least raise awareness about this loss. Keep bird feeders at home and provide water in summer,” he said when asked to give some suggestions on how to conserve bird sanctuaries.

An hour-long talk on wildlife conservation is also part of the program.