The Gharana and the Surinsar wetlands are a bird watchers paradise. These wetlands attract thousands of migratory birds every winter like mallards, coots, pintails, cormorants, terns, egrets etc. The Bar headed geese is one of the most notable of the birds in the Gharana wetland. It travels a distance of 1000 miles from the breeding grounds in Central Asia to India over the Himalayas in a single day!
The state has 24 wetlands which are ideal for Bird Watching.
The Notable and rare birds of the State are :
- Piedfisher bird
- Black Necked Crane
- Bar Headed geese
- Ibis bill
- Falcon
- Yellow billed magpie
- European blue whistling Thrush Vulture.
It is all- season sport in Kashmir particularly during the winters when migratory birds fly thousands of miles from Siberia to Kashmir