Indian Skimmer sighted at creek on Kakinada coast

‘Need of the hour is to declare the area an extension of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary’

A colony of Indian Skimmers at the creek near Kakinada in East Godavari district.

The picturesque creek on the northern side of Kumbabhisekham mudflat on the Kakinada coast is home to 8% of the global matured population of the endangered Indian Skimmer (Rynchops albicollis), and the sighting of as many as 230 birds in December.

The creek, 3.2-km away from the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, falls in the Central Asian Flyway of migratory birds.

BNHS survey

A team, led by Kakinada-based ornithologist K. Mrutyunjaya Rao, has carried out the study as part of the Indian Skimmer Count by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).

In mid-2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List had declared the Indian Skimmer as ‘Endangered’, citing the continuing declining trend in the global matured population of the species, which was estimated to be between 2,450 and 2,900 as per its assessment (July, 2020).

In Pakistan, its number was barely 15 by mid-2020.

In India, Chambal and Mahanadi river basins are the prime breeding grounds of the bird.

Feeding ground

Prior to the activities of the Kakinada Seaports Limited (KSPL) and the GMR Group for various operations in the recent years, the Kumbabhisekham mudflat was the prime feeding ground for the Indian Skimmer.

The species is now being sighted in the creek adjacent to the deep sea port.

The species chooses the Kakinada coast for its winter sojourn for feeding. It is listed in the India's Single Species Action Plan (2018-23), through which the habitats will be conserved.

“On December 20, a total of 146 Indian Skimmers were recorded in the creek to the north of the Kumbabhisekham mudflat. By December 29, the number of Indian Skimmers sighted in the creek was 230. Last winter, 250 Indian Skimmers were sighted on the mudflat, which is now completely destroyed,” Mr.Mrutyunjaya Rao told The Hindu .

“I have recorded two Indian Skimmers, flagged by the BNHS, at the mudflat. While one (Tag No. A67) migrated from Mahanadi in Odisha in 2019, the other (Tag No. 6-68) is sighted this winter in the creek near the mudflat. The recording of the tagged birds speaks the importance of the habitats for future conservation measures,” D. Mahesh Babu, researcher with the A.P. Forest Department, said.

“The creek deserves to be declared as a part of the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, given its proximity to the sanctuary and global importance for protection of the habitats of the Indian Skimmer. The declaration of the creek as ‘extension of the sanctuary’ will further protect it from any threats,” observed Mr. Mrutyunjaya Rao.