the migration of Amur falcons from Siberia to South Africa (through Nagaland)

The Amur River or Heilong Jiang  is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China. The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is  also known as the Amur tiger and its declining population has been a  cause of concern for many.  I have recently posted on Putin’s tiger defecting to China………… now this is another post with Amur connection, this time a bird.

The Amur falcon (Falco amurensis) is a fascinating bird in the size of a pigeon. 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.  Today’s The Hindu reports that even as the first flock of Amur falcons from Mongolia have reached Pangti village in Wokha district of Nagaland to mark the advent of another migratory season, the scientific community is eagerly awaiting the arrival of ‘Naga’ and ‘Pangti’ — two Amur falcons which were satellite-tagged in Nagaland last year before the Amur falcons started their journey to South.  The report states that  ‘Naga’ and ‘Pangti’ had been tracked in inner Mongolia on Wednesday and the two satellite tagged birds were expected to arrive in Nagaland anytime in October or early November.  According to conservators,  the arrival of ‘Naga’ and ‘Pangti’ would scientifically establish the long migration route of the Amur falcons from Mongolia to South Africa via Nagaland. However, why the Amur falcons skip Nagaland on their return journey from South Africa to Mongolia will still remain a mystery.

In last Nov,  three Amur falcons — Naga, Pangti and Wokha, named after Nagaland, Pangti village and Wokha district respectively — were satellite-tagged and released in Nagaland’s Doyang forest. They reached South Africa on January 9 after flying over Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and the Arabian Sea. They started their return journey from South Africa in April third week. However, ‘Wokha’ continued to be tracked in Somalia, which probably meant that either the bird died or its satellite-tracking device got detached from its body.  Every year, from October to November, a large number of Amur falcons arrive in the northeast, especially in Nagaland for roosting, from Mongolia en route to their final destination — South Africa. The falcons travel up to 22,000 km a year — known to be one of the longest distance migration of birds.

The amur falcons were getting killed in large numbers in Nagaland and conservation of Amur falcons in Nagaland gained ground from 2012 and in 2013 after which reportedly  no killing of the migratory bird occurred or rather reported. Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Trust (NWBCT)  conducts nature camps under its ‘Friends of the Amur falcon’ programme for building awareness on conservation of biodiversity among the children and villagers in the areas which the Amur falcons visit for the third consecutive year. The  government, and the villages of Pangti, Ashaa and Sungro, stepped in;  Nagaland's chief minister Neiphiu Rio  also threatened to stop grants to villages involved in hunting the falcons. Village councils agreed to make the hunting of the falcons illegal, and levied a fine on hunters.

This accumulation of Amur falcons is the largest aggregation of these falcons along their vast migration route from Siberia through this gap in the Himalayas all the way to Somalia, Kenya and eventually South Africa.  This amazing transoceanic flight can takes weeks and includes many long nights flying and navigating in the dark. Truly extraordinary for a  bird that weighs about 150g  still having  enough strength, stamina and bodily reserves to fly more than half way around the world. Like the migrations of Masai Mara, tens of thousands of migrating Amur falcons from Siberia stop over in Nagaland lighting  the sky thick with flying birds.  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar                                                                            9^th Oct 2014

With inputs taken from The Hindu, The Indian Express;

photo credit : The Hindu (single falcon) National Geographic (falcons on wire).