Hello lovely readers, wishing you and
your family a very happy new year, let’s hope 2021 brings back a lot of joy and
happiness in our lives. The mission for 2021 should be “Do
everything in 2021 which got missed in 2020”
I am very much optimistic in terms of achieving
everything in 2021 because the year started with the great news of the arrival of Amur
Falcon to Lonavala (Favorite hill station for Mumbaikars). Arrival of Amur
Falcon in such a near place is really interesting for birders and photography lovers because else it requires long travel. I know you may not want to travel at this point in time so let me take you to the world of Amur Falcon through
this blog.
Amur bhag jayega J
The news of the arrival of Amur Falcon got
viral more than the spread of the virus, people wanted some reason to travel, and this
news came like a god gift. Even on weekdays numbers of vehicles were more than
30 with human count crossing around 100. Considering the busy schedule with no choice,
we had to wait for Saturday with fear that with so much disturbance “Amur
Bhag Jayega.” I cannot let go of such a unique species for myself as well as for you and hence I approached Deepa (the expert) to give me a company to meet Falcon. after discussion Deepa and I decided to go on Saturday and try our luck to meet
Falcon. This is the same place where last season lesser Kestrel was a star, and this time Falcon is leading the
show.
With so much excitement and fear of Vishnu
Vani somehow managed to reach the place after having yummy Dosa and Vada at the oldest and famous Kamat restaurant. The moment we reached, we were lucky
to sight female of Amur falcon very close to us, it released our stress of sighting,
and we started enjoying various positions like on eye level, on perch, on
stone, on top of tree or hovering. All the different expressions and styles we
could capture but we missed Kestrel’s presence. The mission got accomplished as against Vishnu Vani but the location
details were shared by him so we have to appreciate his help. So now you know how we reached its time to move to the next section to understand why this bird is
called the master of migration in the next section.
Migration specialist
Amur falcons are known to cover one of the
longest migration routes among all birds. For birds who travel such a great
distance to survive, anything less than admiration and respect is unacceptable.
The Amur Falcon is a fascinating migratory raptor. Every year, the small,
resilient birds make the daring voyage from breeding grounds in Russia and
China to winter in southern Africa. It is believed that the falcons cross the Arabian Sea during their migration, but much is still unknown about the
patterns of their estimated 22,000 km migration. Because of the long journey,
stopover sites are important for Amur Falcons to maintain stamina
They visit India while doing so. This migration
happens in large number and the sheer size of the flock makes it a great
spectacle, something every wildlife enthusiast must witness at least once in
their lifetime. Fortunately, for us, these handsome falcons make a stopover in
India, particularly in Nagaland and parts of Manipur and Assam before taking
off for the most arduous part of their migration route--flying over the Arabian
Sea to finally winter in South Africa. Travel to different countries crossing
Arabian sea for such a small size of the bird is unique in itself hence it is champion
of migration
Qualities are not only restricted to migration,
there many more we should look at it as well, let us move to the next section for
fantastic facts
Fantastic facts
The Amur falcons feed mostly on insects, mainly
mid-air. Their migration to Africa coincides with the time when due to rains
swarm of insects will be everywhere, making South Africa a great feeding ground
Their timing is impeccable; their flight over
the Arabian Sea coincides with the dragonfly migration, which is also their
greatest food source during the most arduous phase of their journey
In Nagaland, the spotting would be an
understatement when we speak of Amur falcons. The nature of their flocking is
nothing short of a great show. In millions, they come visit-starting
mid-October until early November
Males
are characteristically dark sooty grey above with Rufus thighs and vent. In-flight, the wing lining is white, contrasting with the dark wing feathers. Females can be more difficult to
identify as they share a pattern common to many falcons but are distinctive in
having an orange eye-ring, a red cere, and reddish-orange feet. Juveniles can be confused only with
those of the red-footed falcon, but lack the Buffy underwing coverts
The Amur falcon was long considered a
subspecies or morph of the red-footed falcon, but it is nowadays considered
distinct. Nonetheless, it is the red-footed falcon's closest relative; their
relationship to other falcons is more enigmatic
The Amur falcon feeds mainly late in
the evening or early in the morning capturing a wide range of insects in the
air or on the ground. They capture most of their prey in flight, sometimes by
hovering, but will also pick prey by alighting on the ground
After knowing the fantastic details
the time is to know one of the events that happened in 2012 which turned out to be eye
opener towards conservation which is captured in the next section, let's see how
and why Nagaland is Falcon Capital
Nagaland - Falcon
Capital
In 2012 an estimated 120,000 to
140,000 birds were trapped in nets and killed while passing through a remote
part of the Indian Nagaland region. This prompted a swift response from the
Indian Government and the Nagaland Forest Department, which used patrols and
education initiatives for villagers as a means to halt trapping. In 2013, no
falcons were trapped
This was exactly what inspired the conservation
workers to spread the importance of conserving these birds and give them a
temporary safe house before they make the much longer onward journey. Pangi
village in Nagaland has now become the world's Amur Falcon capital and has put
Nagaland on the world map, for all the right reasons
I hope you liked this blog, keep
blessing and keep motivating me to deliver unique stuff, do let me know your
feedback on btwildart@gmail.om
Learning of the day
State Bird of Kerala
Great
Indian Hornbill –
The great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) also known as the concave-casqued
hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger
members of the hornbill family
BT Wild Art
DSLR Section
Female
 |
| Male |
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