Amur falcon

Context: An Amur falcon was sighted earlier on the campus of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) at Kodiakkarai, abutting the Point Calimere Sanctuary, in Nagapattinam district.

• The bird, sighted for the first time in the area.
• It is unusual to find the bird in south India. Usually, it takes the path of central India on its lengthy migration from the breeding grounds in Russia and China to South Africa.

Amur Falcon:

• The Amur falcon 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
• Much is still unknown about the patterns of their estimated 22,000 km journey.
• The wide breeding range and large population size of the Amur falcon have led to the species being assessed as being of least concern.
• 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.

Point Calimere

• Kodiakkarai also called Point Calimere, is a low headland on the Coromandel Coast, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.
• It is the apex of the Cauvery River delta, and marks a nearly right-angle turn in the coastline.
• Kodiakkarai is designated as Ramsar Convention site since August 2002.
• The forests of Point Calimere, also known the Vedaranyam forests, are one of the last remnants of the dry evergreen forests that were once typical of the East Deccan dry evergreen forests ecoregion.
• Migratory birds gathered in and around Point Calimere in northeast monsoon season.

Impact of Climate change on migratory birds:

• Rising sea level is certainly affecting migratory and wintering shorebirds, perhaps favouring some and not others.
• Due to the flooding of the bird areas duration of migratory bird reduces. As the duration of stay of the migratory birds depends on the retention of rainwater and the inflow of seawater into the swamp.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/amur-falcon-sighted-near-point-calimere/article33350400.ece?homepage=true