I found an interesting article about a fascinating bird called the Amur Falcon in the latest issue of 'Hornbill', a BNHS journal, and thought of sharing some interesting facts and its plight with you.
The Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis) is a small raptor of the falcon family. It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern Africa. It was earlier treated as a subspecies of the Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus) and known as the Eastern Red-footed Falcon.
 |
| Amur Falcon |
The Amur Falcon breeds in east Asia from the Transbaikalia, Amurland and northern Mongolian region to parts of North Korea. They migrate in a broad front through India, to reach southern Africa. Birds going over India are thought to be aided by strong winds blowing westward. These winds are strong at an altitude of about 3000m and the birds are thought to fly at a height of above 1000m during migration. The route taken to return to their breeding grounds is not clear but they avoid the long ocean crossing and possibly take an overland route northward through Africa and to the west of the Himalayas. Vagrants have been recorded as far west as in Italy, Sweden, St. Helena and the United Kingdom. They cover an amazing 22,000 kms. round trip, with 4000 kms. of sea crossing (Indian Ocean) between India and South Africa twice a year!
Doyang reservoir in Nagaland, a north-eastern state of India, is the product of a dam on the Doyang river. The water body formed in 2000, has been attracting Amur Falcons in lakhs ever since. The sharp-eyed falcons dart above the water, catching insects.
In 2012, Shashank Dalvi and Ramki Sreenivasan documented the shocking massacre of tens of thousands of migrating falcons along the banks of the Doyang reservoir in Wokha district of Nagaland.
Everyday thousands of these beautiful Amur falcons were being caught in mist nets, plucked alive, skewered, and then smoked before transport to market for sale as a cheap source of protein. An estimated 120,000 – 140,000 Amur falcons (Falco amurensis) were being slaughtered each year. The numbers are too much to comprehend.
Conservation India (CI) approached Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) with a shocking video showing this massacre. It was an issue of hunting on a scale that was unsustainable. An active conservation plan had to be drawn up to save these falcons from extinction. Birdlife International put out an emergency fund appeal for the species. The response was overwhelming.
BNHS along with Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Trust (NWBCT) set up ecoclubs in several villages to educate the villagers about the uniqueness of the avian visitor. With the help of Birdlife International's help under the Preventing Extinction Programme, and working with several creative people, a range of educational material was created for the children. For the first time children were also a part of the conservation program, by being made aware of the migratory falcons. The success of the NWBCT’s initiative was the development of a teaching manual for Amur falcon conservation. They held an intensive 4-day ‘Under the Canopy’ programme that trained around 20 teachers about how amazing the falcon migration really was. These teachers, have created and today run four EcoClubs in Sungro, Pangti and Doyang, where children are taught about these extraordinary falcons. The children make up songs, learn about conservation, and take this information home to their families. This is the only way to support the long-term sustainability of community conservation projects such as ”Friends of the Amur Falcon”. Result? children who ate Amur Falcons last year did not do so this year! Church leaders and village councils too appealed to villagers not to hunt these birds. The turnaround is heartening. Unless this effort is continued over the years, and unless other alternatives to earn money are not offered to the villagers, hunting will resume. A villager used to earn anywhere between Rs. 30,0000 to Rs. 80,000 per season, which is a lot for an average villager.
Shashank Dalvi of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS – India), Bangalore, is leading a survey team of volunteers across locations in North-East India where the falcons have been seen in the past, recording their numbers, routes, and roosts, as well as potential hunting pressures.
On November 7th, 2013 three Amur falcons were satellite-tagged with 5g transmitters in Nagaland as part of a collaboration between scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Convention on Migratory Species, United Nations Environment Programme, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, and the Nagaland Forest Department.
“The three satellite-tagged birds were named Naga, Wokha and Pangti on November 9. With the help of satellites, they were tracked as they flew across Bangladesh, India and finally across the Arabian Sea to reach Africa in one month. For the next four weeks, they flew slowly southwards from Somalia to Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, till they reached South Africa on January 9.
The male bird named Naga flew over Senapati and Churachandpur (Manipur) to Aizawl (Mizoram), entered Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, after which it flew non-stop across the Arabian Sea to reach the Coast of Somalia on November 20. It then stayed at the Tsavo National Park in Kenya for a few days, before crossing to Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Botswana to finally enter South Africa on January 9.
Similarly, the female bird named Pangti flew over Silchar (Assam), Agartala (Tripura), Bangladesh, Sundarbans, Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra before crossing the Arabian Sea. It then crossed the Coast of Somalia, entered Kenya and rested at the Tsavo National Park for a few days before flying across Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana to enter South Africa.
The third falcon, Wokha, flew over Silchar (Assam), Chittagong (Bangladesh), Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa before crossing the Arabian Sea to reach Somalia through the Gulf of Aden.
Lets pray that this amazing brave bird survives human greed and cruelty to fly unhindered across the vast oceans and continents.
(Cruel massacre of Amur Falcons in Nagaland)
(Video of Amur Falcons)
 |
| Doyang Reservoir swarming with amur falcons |
 |
| Massacred birds |
Conservation India (CI) approached Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) with a shocking video showing this massacre. It was an issue of hunting on a scale that was unsustainable. An active conservation plan had to be drawn up to save these falcons from extinction. Birdlife International put out an emergency fund appeal for the species. The response was overwhelming.
BNHS along with Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Trust (NWBCT) set up ecoclubs in several villages to educate the villagers about the uniqueness of the avian visitor. With the help of Birdlife International's help under the Preventing Extinction Programme, and working with several creative people, a range of educational material was created for the children. For the first time children were also a part of the conservation program, by being made aware of the migratory falcons. The success of the NWBCT’s initiative was the development of a teaching manual for Amur falcon conservation. They held an intensive 4-day ‘Under the Canopy’ programme that trained around 20 teachers about how amazing the falcon migration really was. These teachers, have created and today run four EcoClubs in Sungro, Pangti and Doyang, where children are taught about these extraordinary falcons. The children make up songs, learn about conservation, and take this information home to their families. This is the only way to support the long-term sustainability of community conservation projects such as ”Friends of the Amur Falcon”. Result? children who ate Amur Falcons last year did not do so this year! Church leaders and village councils too appealed to villagers not to hunt these birds. The turnaround is heartening. Unless this effort is continued over the years, and unless other alternatives to earn money are not offered to the villagers, hunting will resume. A villager used to earn anywhere between Rs. 30,0000 to Rs. 80,000 per season, which is a lot for an average villager.
Shashank Dalvi of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS – India), Bangalore, is leading a survey team of volunteers across locations in North-East India where the falcons have been seen in the past, recording their numbers, routes, and roosts, as well as potential hunting pressures.
On November 7th, 2013 three Amur falcons were satellite-tagged with 5g transmitters in Nagaland as part of a collaboration between scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Convention on Migratory Species, United Nations Environment Programme, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, and the Nagaland Forest Department.
“The three satellite-tagged birds were named Naga, Wokha and Pangti on November 9. With the help of satellites, they were tracked as they flew across Bangladesh, India and finally across the Arabian Sea to reach Africa in one month. For the next four weeks, they flew slowly southwards from Somalia to Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, till they reached South Africa on January 9.
 |
| Satellite transmitter fitted falcon |
The male bird named Naga flew over Senapati and Churachandpur (Manipur) to Aizawl (Mizoram), entered Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, after which it flew non-stop across the Arabian Sea to reach the Coast of Somalia on November 20. It then stayed at the Tsavo National Park in Kenya for a few days, before crossing to Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Botswana to finally enter South Africa on January 9.
 |
| Migratory flight path of the falcon |
Similarly, the female bird named Pangti flew over Silchar (Assam), Agartala (Tripura), Bangladesh, Sundarbans, Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra before crossing the Arabian Sea. It then crossed the Coast of Somalia, entered Kenya and rested at the Tsavo National Park for a few days before flying across Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana to enter South Africa.
The third falcon, Wokha, flew over Silchar (Assam), Chittagong (Bangladesh), Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa before crossing the Arabian Sea to reach Somalia through the Gulf of Aden.
Lets pray that this amazing brave bird survives human greed and cruelty to fly unhindered across the vast oceans and continents.
(Cruel massacre of Amur Falcons in Nagaland)
(Video of Amur Falcons)
