While the number of birds that fly all the way down to Pune depends on the availability of water in the northern parts of the country, the lakes and waterbodies around the city do attract a fair share of migratory birds every winter. And along with the local feathered population, this amounts to a quite a variety for the bird-watcher to train his binoculars on.

The regular visitors to the water bodies in and around Pune include species like the Brahmi duck (the Indian ones that breed in the Tibetan-Himalayan range), the Pin-tailed duck, the Shoveler, the Gargani, the Pochad and the Black-Winged Stilt. Places like the Veer Dam (near Satara) are winter havens for the Demoiselle Crane, whose natural habitat is Siberia. On the tail of these migratory birds are other birds of prey like the Marsh Harrier, which feeds on small or tired birds en route.

Occasionally, the ardent bird-watcher has also been able to spot species that usually do not frequent Pune (or its vicinity). While the reasons for their uncommon choice of destination cannot be nailed down, it almost always has to do with food and the availability of water further north. A couple of years ago, the Common Shell Duck was spotted near Kavdi, and last year, one got to see the Black Stork. Those around the Shirsuphal Lake could watch the Common Crane. In fact, the Indian Skimmer was seen as close as the Mula Mutha Bird Sanctuary. Exotic varieties like the Flamingo are almost a common sight each winter, and if lucky, one could even get to see them right at home too.

And while most of us go around town wearing oxygen masks, there's some solace in the fact that the air is not so polluted as to dissuade these annual guests. Says Dr. Sattyasheel Naik, from his decade-long experience of bird-watching, ``Talking of pollution, the most serious threat is from oil pollution; but we do not get to see much of that here. Some years ago, there was a disaster near Veer Dam, where a lot of migratory birds died on eating crop sprayed with pesticides. While at this moment the city and its surroundings are seeing fewer birds, it's probably due to more water being available in the northern states''.