Table 1 Characteristic features of sampling sites with details on geo-features, sampling size, and the level of disturbances
Study Site | Location (acronym) | Lat/long | Grid size (km2) | Elevation (m above msl) | Site description | Level of disturbance | Transects/PCS no./rad./length | Hours spent/fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nikki Tawi (NT) | 32° 43′ 14″ N 74° 50′ 17″ E | 4 | 290–300 | A natural distributary of river Tawi bifurcated close to fourth Tawi bridge southwards of Jammu City with high municipal waste load (Sohil and Sharma 2020) | High | PCS-05 (25 m R*5) | 6.5 |
2 | Gharana Wetland Conservation Reserve (GWCR) | 32° 34′ 29″ N 74° 40′ 06″ E | 1 | 262 | A small eutrophic wetland (185 acres), a designated Important Bird Area (IBA) is home to a number of trans-boundary winter visitors | Moderate | PCS-04 (25 m R *4) | 7.0 |
3 | University of Jammu campus (JU) | 32° 43′ 08″ N 74° 51′ 58″ E | 2 | 320–335 | Sprawled in 118 acres, the campus provides a rich array of bird refuges in the form of lawns, plantations, and hedges with well-maintained botanical and cactus gardens | Moderate | LT-05 (100 m*5) | 7.5 |
4 | Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary (RWLS) | 32° 45′ 08″ N 74° 52′ 15″ E | 5 | 360–450 | A well-managed protected area (31 km2) with intact deciduous forests offers a rich habitat to number of forest specialists | Low | LT-03 (100 m*2 and 300 m*1) | 8.0 |
5 | Bahu-Mahamaya forest (BMF) | 32° 43′ 43″ N 74° 53′ 29″ E | 4 | 350–470 | A typical subtropical mixed patch of deciduous forest (and exotic plantations), along the left bank of river Tawi is a favored bird’s destination | Low | LT-03 (500 m*1 and 250 m*2) | 7.0 |
6 | Southern open plains (SOP) | 32° 45′ 32″ N 74° 48′ 26″ E | 4 | 260–270 | A mixed landscape interspersed with agriculture fields, fallow lands, water bodies, and habitations. An ideal habitat for the generalists, aquatic dependent birds and raptors | Moderate | LT-03 (200 m*3) | 8.0 |