Amidst an alarming drop in the number of winged visitors to the wetland estuaries of the Southern Kerala this year, the European White Stork (Ciconia ciconia), a rare winter visitor to the state, was sighted at the Polachira Wetlands near Chathannoor in Kollam district.
Three birds of the species were sighted by bird watchers R Jayaprakash, S S Ratheesh and Abhiram Chandran among others during the annual Asian Waterfowl Census at the wetlands conducted by Thiruvananthapuram-based Warblers & Waders. Ornithologist C Susanth, who led the census, told Express that it was the first sight record of the European White Stork- which is usually sighted during winter in drier regions of the country such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal-in Polachira.
The European White Stork’s visit was recorded earlier in Poruvazhi near Sasthamcotta in Kollam in October 1985. It was also recorded that the bird was seen at Walayar Dam, Palakkad in 1996, in Neyyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram in 1986 and during four seasons at Kole wetlands in Thrissur between 1987 and 2007.
A spate of records on the bird’s visit during winter season was made during the late 1980s but since then the bird had been sighted rarely in the state, especially in southern regions.
European White Stork is a long legged, long necked, egret-like bird, which is all white except for the longer scapulars and wing quills which are black. They breed in Europe, North Africa, West Asia, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran and Turkistan.
The avian enthusiasts are however not excited about the sighting, as the presence of the species is an indication of the drought-like situation faced in wintering grounds.
The drop in the number of birds enumerated in Polachira, which is traditionally one of the favourite winter-home for the migratory birds in southern Kerala this season, has come as a shocker to the bird watchers.
Only 604 water birds of 37 species, including migratory and resident species were spotted in Polachira as against 4,277 birds of 31 species found during the previous season.
The most disturbing fact noted by the team was the near vanish of species such as Purple swamphen (‘Neela Kozhi’ or ‘Mayil Kozhi’), cotton teal (‘Paccha Eranda’) and Garganey teal, which had flocked Polachira in abundance during previous seasons.Only 35 Purple swamphens were enumerated this season by the team against 807 enumerated during last season. The teals had almost disappeared from the area when compared to last season’s figure of 1,534 birds.
“It is the least count since the past decade. The water body had completely drained out and migratory wild ducks and waders deserted the Polachira wetlands. “The huge presence of Brahmini and Black Kites are also a cause for concern. These scavenger birds are mainly feeding on waste dumped in the area.
These kites might have scared off the small water birds usually present in the area such as waders, plovers and sand pipers,” C Susanth said. In the Water Fowl census conducted by the Warblers & Waders, the Bombay Natural History Society and Wetlands International, Malaysia in January to February 2003 in Polachira, a total of 26,195 birds from 37 species were recorded.
Since then, reclamation of paddy fields, poaching and pollution had caused the decline in the number of winged visitors to the region.