Centre to develop Doyang lake in Nagaland as eco-tourism spot

EMN Dimapur, November 16 As two of the three Amur falcons tagged with satellite tracking chips last year returned to the north-eastern Indian state of Nagaland, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar has become the first Union Minister to have a bountiful view of Amur Falcons that arrived in Doyang Lake area in Nagaland this morning. Enthused by the sight of millions of Amur falcons in just half an hour, the Environment Minister announced that the Centre will soon develop the Doyang Lake area as an eco-tourism spot for bird-watchers across the world to have a wonderful and rare sight of Amur Falcons, which come to roost every year at Doyang lake during their flight from Mongolia to South Africa. “Today, the world has recognized Pangti village in Nagaland as the world’s Amur Falcon capital, as more than one million birds can be seen in just 30 minutes. It is a very rare and exciting sight”, he said. The Minister declared that four or five other birds from other roosting in Nagaland will also be tagged, giving the name of the area to which the roosting relates. Addressing the gathering comprising local people, conservators and forest officials on the occasion, Javadekar said, “The conservation of Amur falcon is a great success story for India, as it has happened with peoples’ participation. People, who were earlier killing the bird (Amur falcons) earlier, are now working for its conservation, thanks to proper motivation, training and mindset changes effected by various wildlife conservation bodies, activists and the Church”. Javadekar expressed the hope that with proper conservation methods, the birds will be attracted in larger numbers. He added that the Centre and State Government would jointly take measures to promote infrastructure and eco-tourism in the entire Amur Falcon area. “This is community conservation, which must be applauded”, he said. The two falcons - named Naga and Pangti – tagged in 2013 have already done two rounds from Mongolia to South Africa via Nagaland and have again returned to Nagaland this year. Amur falcons, weigh just 150 grams, cover 5, 600 kilometers, flying non-stop in five days from Mongolia, to arrive in Nagaland. Amur falcons are the longest travelling raptors in the world and come to Doyang every year in millions. Until recently, Naga tribesmen used to hunt thousands of Amur falcons for meat. But last year, after a vigorous campaign by wildlife activists, they pledged to protect the bird and since then, not a single bird has been hunted in the area. 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. Males are dark grey with reddish brown thighs and undertail coverts; reddish orange eye-ring, cere, and feet. Females are duller above with dark scaly markings on white underparts, an orange eye ring, cere, and legs. Only a pale wash of rufous is visible on their thighs and under tail coverts. Their diet consists mainly of insects such as termites and, during migration over the sea, the birds are thought to feed on migrating dragonflies. The route that they take from Africa back to their breeding grounds is as yet unclear.