The Kiliyoor tank on the outskirts of Trichy has got a rare Dutch visitor spending some time in the sun. The national bird of the Netherlands – the black-tailed godwit, a rare migratory water bird to have visited the region in the recent past.
For the past few years, Kiliyoor is attracting a lot of migratory water birds including pelicans, garganey, Northern shoveller, flamingos and spoonbills. The tank serves as a pit stop for intercontinental migratory birds to source the required food to power their journey.
As members of the Trichy birds club were surveying the waterbody on Sunday, they spotted the native of Europe. Birdwatchers said godwits migrate to south Asia and Australia to escape the extreme winter in Central Asia and the European region.
These birds have long beak and legs, a distinctive feature. According to the Royal Societyfor the Protection of Birds (RSPB), black-tailed godwit has a bright orangey-brown chest in summer that turns greyish brown in winter. They feed on insects, worms and snails. Since the Kiliyoor tank has less human presence, godwits might have chosen the peaceful ambience to augment energy for its intercontinental voyage.
“In recent years, we have not spotted the black-tailed godwit. The congregation must have been scattered to the nearby water bodies,” K Balakrishnan, convenor of Trichy birds club said.
The godwits are expected to leave for their next pit stop in the next few days as peak summer nears. Birdwatchers said overcrowding of migratory birds, habitat loss and shortage of feed at bird sanctuaries nearby such as Karaivetti in Ariyalur, Vaduvoor in Tiruvarur and Point Calimere in Nagapattinam might have forced the water bird to find refuge in the relatively less-frequented water tank.
“As the Kiliyoor tank has around 40% water, feed availability is good, there is no poaching threat too. Other migratory birds such as garganey are low in numbers, so there will not be any scarcity for feed. These might be the reasons for the godwit to halt at Kiliyoor,” Balakrishnan said.