Seagulls is a documentary, directed, produced and written by Aziz Sanghur. Mr Sanghur is a documentary film-maker. The documentary shows some 80 per cent decline has been observed in the population of resident and migratory birds in Pakistan in recent years. Major reasons for this decline are tree cutting, hunting, poaching, pollution and massive constructions.
Pakistan's incredibly diverse environment from the highest mountains on earth to burning deserts, rich plains, endless rivers and 1050 km coastline supports more than 700 species of resident and migrant birds.
Every year millions of migratory birds head towards wetlands of Pakistan from Europe and Central Asian states to escape winter. These migratory birds have a special fly zone that leads to Pakistan commonly known as Indus flyway zone. There are, however, seven fly zones all over the world. The birds reach Pakistan flying over Karakorum, Suleiman Ranges and Hindukush along the Indus River.
The migratory birds which include falcons, cranes, swans, ducks, flamingos, waders and geese start reaching Pakistan early September till February and fly back to Europe and Central Asian states by March. Especially falcons are being targeted by several illegal hunters.
Migratory birds start reaching Pakistan as winter approaches and keep migrating from September to February and fly back in March. An important reason for birds migrating to other regions is food. It is not available in indigenous habitats during winter.
However, the experts said the loss of natural habitat was a major reason for the decrease in migratory birds visiting Pakistan. They said that a 70 percent decline had been observed in the migratory birds' population in Pakistan in recent years. They added that a number of bird species had vanished because of tree cutting, pollution and dust.
The excessive plantation of decorative and ornamental plants has damaged the natural habitat of bird because they cannot find food on ornamental plants, said the experts. They said that trees such as acacia, sisso, mulberry and poplar, on which birds feed, were cut down in large numbers and made native birds' lives difficult.
