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Dimapur, November 3
It’s been barely three years since the slaughter of this visitor stopped. The migrating bird aerial predator Amur Falcon has finally come to roost in Nagaland, from the forested areas of Doyang in Wokha district to Longleng district, and now in Intanki national park in Peren district.
The forest and wildlife authorities of Peren district have informed on Tuesday that Amur Falcons have also reached the reserved forest. The first flock of the birds was said to have been sighted on October 19, eventually increasing to thousands.
The wildlife authorities are expecting numbers by the lakh and wildlife protection forces are said to be in place.
“With the arrival of Amur falcons at Intanki National Park, armed forest protection force has intensified its duty in and around the park area for the safe roosting and passage of the migratory birds to its destination,” the Wildlife Warden of Dimapur, K Caroline, stated in the press release.
“The first flock of Amur Falcon in the National Park was sighted on the 19th of October 2015. The number has increased by the thousands since then and is expected to reach lakhs in a few days time,” the press release said.
The Dimapur division remarked that the numbers of falcons in the area this year “far exceeds that of last year’s.” The roosting area being undisturbed, has become an ideal location for bird watchers and a safe haven for the bird, Caroline stated.
“Awareness (sic) has been created in the fringe villages of the National Park as well as other districts of the state in collaboration with the Territorial Division. This has received a positive response for collective protection and conservation of the Amur falcon during its stay in the Park area,” she added.
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 under-tail 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 undertail coverts.
Their diet consists mainly of insects such as termites and during migration over the sea. They are thought to feed on migrating dragonflies. The route that they take from Africa back to their breeding grounds is as yet unclear.
The wide breeding range and large population size of the Amur falcon have led to the species being assessed as being of least concern.
The flocking behavior during migration and the density at which they occur however expose them to hunting and other threats. During their migration from their breeding area to the winter quarters they are plump and are hunted for food in parts of northeastern India as well as in eastern Africa.
In 2012, mass trapping and capture of migrating Amur falcons in Nagaland (India) was reported in the media and a successful campaign was begun to prevent their killing. As part of this campaign, three birds were fitted with 5 gm satellite transmitters that allowed them to be tracked during their migration.
Besides, Doyang hydro and now Peren, a population of the birds have been roosting in as far as Longleng district. Far from the media attention that the Doyang’s forested areas received since the migratory birds flew into spotlight two years ago, there is another village community in Nagaland that has been working for wildlife and forest conservation without assistance, help, or media attention.
A small community in Longleng district has been doing its bit in ensuring that visiting Amur Falcons do not become food or an economic tool. The area in question is in Longleng district where the aerial predators have flown into the welcoming arms of wildlife lovers and local communities who know what their value is.
A batch of Amur Falcons has arrived in Longleng district, in Yaongyimchen Community Bio-Diversity Conservation Area on October 12. The district’s administration informed this in a press release on Wednesday. The administration said that the information is based on reports received from the convener of a local committee working for conservation of wildlife and forest in Yaongyimchen village and adjoining areas.
Yaongyimchen Community Bio-Diversity Conservation Area was initiated in the year 2010 by the villagers of Yaongyimchen, Alayong and Sanglu, of the district. “It is reported that Amur Falcon has been roosting in this conservation area and nearby areas since 2010. With the active initiatives of Shri. Y. Nuklu Phom, Executive Secretary, Phom Baptist Church Association and Convenor, LENSACHENLOK, the committee have been working tirelessly without sponsors from any source for protection of Amur falcon in this area,” the administration has said.