The ongoing migratory season has brought in rare winter birds to the white sands of Puthuvype Beach, which adjoins the site for the proposed LPG terminal at Puthuvype. However, fewer numbers of birds this year are a cause for a concern, say birdwatchers.
A visit to the Puthuvype beach and its environs reveals several species of migratory shore birds such as the whimbrel and greater sand-plover.
Species of migratory wading birds including sandpipers and stints also feed in marshlands adjoining the beach.
Other infrequently-seen species recorded from the region by birdwatchers over the years include the migratory dunlin (a resident of the Arctic and Siberian areas) and numerous species of large, migratory gulls. Huge aggregations of some gull species have been recorded in the area (for instance, 250 brown-headed gulls were recorded at Puthuvype Beach on February 7, as listed on eBird, an online citizen-science repository for bird sightings).
Residents of Puthuvype Beach are also aware that winter birds arrive in the area. “They begin arriving around December and by January they are here in hundreds,” says Shivanandan S., a fisherman at Puthuvype. “A lot of people come here to see these birds.”
One of them is Polly Kalamassery, an avid birdwatcher, who has been visiting Puthuvype and its environs for four years now. “I’ve spotted all shore birds I have ever seen from here,” says Mr. Kalamassery, a retired FACT employee.
However this year, the numbers of birds have decreased drastically, he points out. Thousands of sand-plovers would arrive at the beach previously, while whimbrels would number up to a hundred. However, very few individuals of both species have turned up this year, he adds.
The Eurasian oystercatcher – a migratory bird listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Redlist – which has been spotted in the area before has not been seen this year. Yet, what caused this decrease – the Ockhi cyclone, the floods in August or the disturbances on the beach – cannot be ascertained unless a detailed study is conducted, says Mr. Kalamassery.
Protection of ecosystem
However, this could be another reason to protect the stretch which is an important bird habitat, he adds.
Apart from 140 species of birds (as per eBird lists), the region is also home to other wildlife: smooth-coated otters, whose presence is considered a good indicator of the health of an ecosystem, are common in shrimp-farms and estuaries while porpoises and dolphin species frequent the sea just a few metres away from the beach, say local fishermen. In 2017, a study led by former State biodiversity board chairman V.S. Vijayan reported the presence of 138 bird species in the area, as well as 204 plant species and 21 fish species, and noted that the presence of the LPG terminal could affect the ecological wealth of the area.