Amur falcons begin arriving in Manipur’s Tamenglong district as two satellite-tagged birds continue their southbound migration towards Africa
IMPHAL — Amur falcons, among the world’s longest-travelling birds of prey, have begun arriving in Manipur’s Tamenglong district on their annual southbound migration, forest officials said.
“Yes, they have started arriving in small batches,” Amit Kelar, divisional forest officer of Tamenglong Forest Division, said when contacted.
Residents of Guangram village, about 150 km west of Imphal, first reported sightings of the migratory birds on October 11.
Meanwhile, two satellite-tagged Amur falcons, Apapang and Alang, began their southbound migration from their breeding grounds in northeastern China on October 10. The birds are expected to reach Manipur by October 20, said Dr Suresh Kumar of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, who has been tracking their movements.
Apapang is a male and Alang a female. They were named after a roosting site and the Barak and Irang rivers in Tamenglong district.
Amur falcons travel from their breeding grounds in northeastern Asia to wintering grounds in southern Africa, covering an estimated 20,000 km during their annual migration. They stop in parts of Northeast India, including Manipur and Nagaland, around October before resuming their journey in November.
The birds are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Their seasonal arrival has prompted conservation initiatives in Tamenglong and Noney districts, including awareness programmes and efforts to protect their roosting sites.
In 2018, Manipur began radio-tagging Amur falcons to study their migratory routes and the environmental conditions along the way. A five-member WII team led by Dr. Kumar tagged five birds in 2019 at Puching village and other locations in Tamenglong, in collaboration with the state Forest Department, district administration, Rainforest Club Tamenglong and local residents.
In May this year, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav described Manipur’s satellite-tagging programme as one of India’s successful community-led conservation efforts.