Bird data absolve migratory ducks

November 28, 2014 01:10 am | Updated 01:10 am IST - KOCHI:

Pintail ducks, which migrate by the thousands, have stayed away since the last migratory season.

Pintail ducks, which migrate by the thousands, have stayed away since the last migratory season.

Theories of migratory ducks transmitting avian influenza in Kerala are losing ground with birders maintaining that not many migrant species were present in the wetlands before the outbreak of the disease.

Data on sighting of birds, uploaded in eBird ( >www.ebird.org ) by birdwatchers, indicated that Northern Pintails and Garganey, the two most common migratory duck species, rarely appeared in the State during the days preceding the outbreak. The first instance of bird death was officially reported on November 21 from Alappuzha district.

Birders could find only five pintails at Changaram wetlands in Alappuzha on November 10. These birds, which usually arrive in wetlands in the thousands, might have stayed back since the last migratory season. Since then, no records of pintails were reported from Alappuzha, said Harikumar Mannar, a bird watcher.

Though a few migratory water fouls were present since the last weeks of October, none of them were infected or falling dead. This factor ruled out the possibility of them acting as the transmitters of the disease. The first sighting of Garganey from Alappuzha for the season was on October 22 when birders recorded a flock of around 500 at Vallomkadavu in Kuttanad. Later, 167 birds were counted at Chennithala on October 28. In Kottayam, the first record of Garganey this year was recorded on November 16 from Poovathumkary. Around 160 birds were counted. Pintails numbering around 12 were also recorded on the same day, he said.

P.J. George, a bird watcher, said that pintails were absent at Kumarakom, Kallara, Aymanam and Thalayazham this season. However, a few birders had seen a large flock flying over Kallara region. Last season, thousands of migratory ducks arrived during the last weeks of October. This year, only a few birds turned up, he said.

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