BATHINDA, Dec. 25 -- The delayed start of the winter season has led to a slow arrival of migratory birds at Harike wetland and other spots across Punjab for the second consecutive year, experts and state wildlife officials said. They are attributing the trend to warmer days and hope that avian guests from other countries will start arriving in large flocks in the next two weeks. Kamaljit Singh, range officer, Harike wetland, said birds from 33 species, including Garganey, Grey-headed Swamphen, Red-crested Pochards, and Knob-billed duck, have been recorded. "Census of the migratory will be held by the end of January. But it has been observed that the numbers at Harike are less this time. Last year, too, birds started landing here in large numbers in January. With a further drop in temperature in the last few days, the number of migratory winged is expected to rise in the coming days," Singh said. Migratory birds of over 90 different species from different countries, including Siberia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, and other parts of the world, arrive at the Harike wetland, a vital biodiversity hotspot, every year after water bodies freeze in their native places in winter.Besides Harike, which is located at the confluence of the Sutlej and Beas rivers and is Punjab's largest wetland, migratory birds also arrive at Keshopur Miani wetland, Nangal wetland, Ropar wetland, Kanjli wetland, and Beas river wetland. Gitanjali Kanwar, coordinator, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) India, said that this time the arrivals have been low. "I recently toured various places, and wetlands are not witnessing much hustle of the avian visitors. A similar situation was seen earlier, but the scene may turn within a week due to friendly weather conditions," Kanwar said, who coordinates with the state forest and wildlife department for birds' census. "Each wetland is divided into blocks based on accessibility, where a group of experts is given a block to record the species of birds. Harike is generally divided into 12-15 blocks, and the work of the avian census will start next month," she added....