Amur Falcons seen at Tamil Nadu's Point Calimere after Cyclone Ditwah

Mumbai: In an unexpected turn of events, after Cyclone Ditwah, two female Amur Falcons were seen at Point Calimere in Kodiyakarai in Tamil Nadu.

The Mumbai-headquartered Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has confirmed the spotting of Amur Falcons.

Although it is a rare sight in the region, it is not the first time the species has been found here.

The species of the bird had been spotted before in 2020, after cyclones Nivar and Burevi.

The birds were spotted at the BNHS Bird Migration Study Centre at Point Calimere.

“The BNHS has been working on conservation of the Amur Falcon in Nagaland for a long time and it has received good support and cooperation from the local community,” said Kishor Rithe, Director, BNHS.

“Their sighting at Point Calimere is very likely due to cyclones. A similar observation was made in the past in 2020 when Amur Falcons were found after a cyclone,” added Rithe.

The migratory raptor travelled nearly 40,000 km, according to a BNHS statement.

S Sivakumar, Assistant Director, BNHS, said: “These are the long-distance migratory birds that are connecting three different flyways starting from the East Asian, Australasian flyway and then going to East African and then South African countries. They have staging sites in Nagaland and Manipur during their onward journey, where hundreds of thousands of birds gather. Later, to reach African countries, the general route for the Amur Falcon is Gujarat, Maharashtra and the upper belt.”

“Two female falcons were found during one of our ornithology courses, and one of the participants sighted them,” he added. Pointing out the importance, Sivakumar says, “Diversity of habitat, such as mudflats, tropical dry green forests and wetlands in Point Calimere supports a wide variety of birds. The place is identified as a crucial site for migratory waterbirds as well as land birds that travel here in winter or travel to Sri Lanka and further south.”