With the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, groups of migratory birds start arriving in Astara county’s wetlands in Gilan Province.
Every year, Astara’s ‘Estil’ and ‘Agh’ lagoons host different kinds of rare migratory birds. The birds’ migration process creates an indescribable beauty in the area.
Since late September this year, birds such as garganey and quail have been arriving in the wetlands from the country’s northern borders as the first group of migratory birds. Garganey is a small dabbling duck which is strictly migratory. The entire population moves to southern Africa, India, and Australasia in winter in large flocks. The bird mainly originates in western Asia and Europe. The migratory birds often feed on paddy waste and insects’ larvae, especially rice stem borer larvae.
Due to the climatic conditions, the migratory birds’ continue to flock to Astara wetlands until late March.
The wetlands are among protected sites and hunting the birds is banned. “Any violation will be dealt with seriously,” IRNA quoted Shahrouz Gholinezhad, head of DoE, Astara as saying.
Estil wetland, due to its privileged location is a breeding refuge for more than 4500 species of birds including egret and the small cormorant. The number of migratory birds in the wetland has reached 7000.
