Migratory birds flock to Magh Mela ground on Thursday
Prayagraj: In view of the bird flu outbreak, the forest department of Prayagraj has appealed to the pilgrims at the Magh Mela to refrain from feeding the migratory birds that flock to the Sangam area.
The Indian Skimmer, locally known as Siberian bird, is one the main centres of attraction at Sangam. Pilgrims feed them sev (a snack). These birds can often be seen sitting on the palm of visitors and eating sev. So popular is this snack among the Siberian birds that they can be seen hovering on the boats and the banks of Ganga and Yamuna, and fighting among themselves to consume it.
Why many Pune birdwatchers were looking for the Indian Skimmer over the weekend
What prompted the bird count was experts stating that there was inadequate knowledge about the Indian Skimmer, especially its numbers. Updated: December 21, 2020 5:24:03 pm
This was the first such global count of the Indian Skimmer and was conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Bird Count India. Image: WikiMedia Commons/Wildmishra
The Indian Skimmer, with its black wings and unusual orange bill with a yellow tip, used to be a vulnerable species till last week, when the International Union for Conservation of Nature upgraded it to Endangered. On Saturday and Sunday, bird lovers from Pune joined their counterparts across India, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh to conduct a survey of the population of the Indian Skimmer. This was the first such global count and was conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Bird Count India.
BirdGuides 7ed65f3c-581c-49ad-aa57-a024eba00ab2
BirdLife International has revealed that iconic birds of prey such as Andean Condor, Secretarybird, Bateleur and Martial Eagle are now at high risk of extinction.
The findings come as part of the latest IUCN Red List update, which reveals a mixed picture for bird conservation across the globe – worrying declines come alongside a suite of success stories.
Andean Condor is the national bird of Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, yet is now globally threatened with extinction. The emblematic species has had its threat level raised to Vulnerable in the 2020 Red List update, sparking fears that the crisis that brought many Asian and African vultures to the edge of extinction has spread to South America.
NGT panel inspects damage to mangrove cover on mudflat
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Kumbabhisekham mudflat needs to be restored, opines team
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Kumbabhisekham mudflat needs to be restored, opines team
The Joint Committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) was urged to ensure restoration of Kumbabhishekham mudflat on the Kakinada coast, protecting the country’s one of the last surviving mudflats which is home for migratory birds ‘endangered’ Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris) and ‘vulnerable’ Indian Skimmer (Rynchops albicollis).
The committee headed by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change representative C. Palpandi and Rahul Pandey, Chief Conservator of Forest - Vijayawada, on Thursday investigated how the 30-acre mudflat was ‘destroyed in a phased manner by the GMR group by depositing dredged material’.