Coimbatore : 2019 has certainly been a good year for birders of Coimbatore has a team of bird watchers from Coimbatore Nature Society (CNS) have spotted two rare storks at Pallapalayam lake, sighting of which is the first time in Coimbatore.
Coimbatore : 2019 has certainly been a good year for birders of Coimbatore has a team of bird watchers from Coimbatore Nature Society (CNS) have spotted two rare storks at Pallapalayam lake, sighting of which is the first time in Coimbatore.
The birds White Stork and Black Stork were spotted by the Team Monarch comprising of P.B. Balaji, A. Pavendhan, Sathish Seniappan, N. Sultana and S. Soundararaj on their visit to the lake during the eight edition of the HSBC Bird Race jointly organised by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) on Sunday.
The team has also been able to capture both the birds in a single frame.
“It is worth noting that there has been no previous documented record of either of these species in Coimbatore District,” said P.B. Balaji who headed the team.
Talking about the birds, Balaji said that the White Stork is a long-distance migrant, which spends the winter in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or in the Indian subcontinent. “The bird prefers both dry grounds and shallow waters to feed and feeds on a variety of fishes, reptiles, smaller mammals and even birds,” Balaji informed.
He further added that the conspicuous species has found a place in literature and legend including the famous story of baby-carrying storks. The bird is also believed to be the bird addressed in the Sangam literature in the ‘Naarai naarai sengaal naarai’ written by Sathu Mutra Pulavar.
“The Black Stork is also a long-distant migrant which spends the winter in the Indian Subcontinent. It prefers feeding in shallow waters and feeds on aquatic creatures,” Balaji told the Simplicity.
He claimed that the team specifically chose to visit Pallapalayam wetland as it was the only wetland in Coimbatore at present with appropriate level of water to support shore birds (known as waders), dabbling ducks, diving ducks and also deep water birds.
“Other wetlands in the Noyyal river system were either filled with water to the brim or were bone dry. Water level is a good indicator of avian biodiversity and a wetland with such water level is sure to host good number of birds,” Balaji opined.
The Pallapalayam lake also hosts other birds like Temminck’s stint, Black-tailed godwits, Ruff, Common Greenshank, Marsh sandpiper, Eurasian widgeon, Northern shoveler, Garganey, Northern pintail and Common teal. The team also observed that a garbage dump adjacent to the lake was a problem as sometimes it is set on fire affecting the bird and butterfly diversity.
Team Monarch was one of the twenty-five teams to participate in HSBC bird race. A total of five teams from Coimbatore nature society had participated in HSBC Coimbatore bird race this year.
A Bird Race is an dawn to dusk event where teams of bird-watchers will spend the entire day birding in and around every metropolitan region (each with a geographical limit to its outer boundaries). The participants will try and record as many species of birds as possible, learn about the finer points of bird-watching from experts and share experience at a suitable venue in the evening.
Close to a 100 members participated this year and according to P. Pramod, Principal Scientist at SACON, more youngsters and first timers participated this year, which was a boost to the event.
The birds White Stork and Black Stork were spotted by the Team Monarch comprising of P.B. Balaji, A. Pavendhan, Sathish Seniappan, N. Sultana and S. Soundararaj on their visit to the lake during the eight edition of the HSBC Bird Race jointly organised by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) on Sunday.
The team has also been able to capture both the birds in a single frame.
“It is worth noting that there has been no previous documented record of either of these species in Coimbatore District,” said P.B. Balaji who headed the team.
Talking about the birds, Balaji said that the White Stork is a long-distance migrant, which spends the winter in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or in the Indian subcontinent. “The bird prefers both dry grounds and shallow waters to feed and feeds on a variety of fishes, reptiles, smaller mammals and even birds,” Balaji informed.
He further added that the conspicuous species has found a place in literature and legend including the famous story of baby-carrying storks. The bird is also believed to be the bird addressed in the Sangam literature in the ‘Naarai naarai sengaal naarai’ written by Sathu Mutra Pulavar.
“The Black Stork is also a long-distant migrant which spends the winter in the Indian Subcontinent. It prefers feeding in shallow waters and feeds on aquatic creatures,” Balaji told the Simplicity.
He claimed that the team specifically chose to visit Pallapalayam wetland as it was the only wetland in Coimbatore at present with appropriate level of water to support shore birds (known as waders), dabbling ducks, diving ducks and also deep water birds.
“Other wetlands in the Noyyal river system were either filled with water to the brim or were bone dry. Water level is a good indicator of avian biodiversity and a wetland with such water level is sure to host good number of birds,” Balaji opined.
The Pallapalayam lake also hosts other birds like Temminck’s stint, Black-tailed godwits, Ruff, Common Greenshank, Marsh sandpiper, Eurasian widgeon, Northern shoveler, Garganey, Northern pintail and Common teal. The team also observed that a garbage dump adjacent to the lake was a problem as sometimes it is set on fire affecting the bird and butterfly diversity.
Team Monarch was one of the twenty-five teams to participate in HSBC bird race. A total of five teams from Coimbatore nature society had participated in HSBC Coimbatore bird race this year.
A Bird Race is an dawn to dusk event where teams of bird-watchers will spend the entire day birding in and around every metropolitan region (each with a geographical limit to its outer boundaries). The participants will try and record as many species of birds as possible, learn about the finer points of bird-watching from experts and share experience at a suitable venue in the evening.
Close to a 100 members participated this year and according to P. Pramod, Principal Scientist at SACON, more youngsters and first timers participated this year, which was a boost to the event.