It was an unforgettable moment that Team Asian Palm Swift, a team of three birders, will savour now. They spotted six bar-headed geese swimming in the placid backwaters of the Vembar in Thoothukudi. “ It was a lucky day for us,” recalls birder K Selvaganesh who saw the birds along with Arulvelan Thillainayagam and Hareesha A S. The bar-headed geese that breed in Central China and Mongolia are winter migrants to India. They are high-altitude flyers and cross the Himalayas into India and cross the mountains again on their way back. “They come in their hundreds to Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. We were excited spotting them at the mouth of the river Vembar,” says Selvaganesh.
( from left) Arulvelan Thillainayagam, Selvaganesh K, Hareesha A S
The three birders went on a three-day birding trip along the coasts of the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. Selvaganesh teaches English at Cinchona Government High School in Valparai and is also the winner of ebird’s Great Backyard Bird Count challenge along with his students. Arulvelan is a visiting faculty at management institutions and Hareesha who is based out of Karnataka works for the Valparai-based Nature Conservation Foundation.
“The idea was brewing in our minds for a long time. When the Great Backyard Bird Count came up, we called it Great Beach Bird Count (G Beach BC) and took off,” says Arulvelan. “It was an opportunity for us to learn about waders and migratory birds that come to the coastal areas. At Manapad in Thoothukudi, we spotted migratory terns in good numbers. There were Gull-billed terns, Greater crested ones, Lesser crested ones and other species of terns too. In Kerala, Puthuvype beach in Ernakulam was promising.”
Road map of the trip
Selvaganesh points out that seashores as an ecosystem are often neglected. “We focus more on wetlands and forests. But, backwaters and mangroves are disturbed too. Sand dunes have disappeared. We wanted to create awareness on these aspects and motivate people into birding as well as conservation. For someone who lives in the rainforest habitat in Valparai, birding on the coastline was a great experience.”
Hareesha says it was not just about documenting birds in a different habitat, but also about meeting new people and new experiences. “ Once you cross the border, the habitat changes and the birds too. Our objective was to cover a larger area in a short span. This way, we could study the distribution pattern of birds. We recorded waders in large numbers.”
Day One
Lesser Crested Tern
Birding stops: Chavakkad Beach in Thrissur District, Puthuvype Beach in Ernakulam district, Thottappally beach in Alappuzha district and Kollam beach in Kollam
Birds spotted: More than 140 species. A mix of waders at Puthuvype Beach, a couple of Green Imperial Pigeons near Desamangalam in Thrissur, a Barn Owl spotted at a water tank on the Kollam Bypass...
Day Two
Common Babbler
Birding stops: Puthalam Saltpans and Manakudy beach in Kanyakumari district, Koodankulam in Tirunelveli district, Manappad beach and Vembar backwaters in Thoothukudi district, Narippaiyur and Valinokkam beaches in Ramanathpuram district
Birds spotted: Black/Brown headed Gulls, Lesser black backed Gulls and vaious species of Tern, besides some uncommon Common Babblers in Narippaiyur beach
Day Three
Birding spots: Thondi Beach in Ramanathpuram District. Kodiamunai Beach in Pudukkottai, Manora point beach in Thanjavur district, Jumbuvanodai under Muthupet lagoon in Tiruvarur district, Nagapattinam beach, Karaikal beach, and Puducherry Union territory.
Birds spotted : Waders. A solitary Pin tailed Snipe at Poigainallur close to Nagapattinam town. A constantly singing Oriental Skylark at Karaikal beach.
