Bar-headed goose spotted at Pallikaranai marshland
The Hindu
This is the first time since 2010 that a bar-headed goose, considered one of the world’s highest flying birds, has been spotted at Pallikaranai, says a birdwatcher
A bar-headed goose has been sighted at the Pallikaranai marshland for over the last one week. The bird, Anser Indicus, native to Central Asia, is known to migrate over the Himalayas to spend the winter in South Asia, from Assam to as far as Tamil Nadu.
K.V.R.K. Thirunaranan, founder of The Nature Trust, said the lone goose was sighted on January 13. “Initially, it was thought that the bird might have been injured. However, it has been flying normally and also feeding in the marshland,” Mr. Thirunaranan said and added that this was the first instance since 2010 that he has spotted a bar-headed goose, considered one of the world’s highest flying birds, at Pallikaranai. Forest Department officials have been witness to the sighting of the bird.
Although there is a perception that the conditions at Pallikaranai marshland had been deteriorating, there has been a good inflow of migrant birds, said Mr. Thirunaranan, who is involved in bird counting with the support of the Forest department. He said the migratory birds seen at Pallikaranai are mostly shallow-water feeders that rest and feed only when the water level recedes to a minimum level as opposed to being deep.
Bar-headed geese were spotted at Muttukadu on December 15. Mr. Thirunaranan said bar-headed geese usually visit the Koonthakulam sanctuary in large numbers. In earlier rare occurrences, a few were spotted at the Andhra Pradesh end of the Pulicat Lake, two in Kancheepuram and five over the Kelambakkam creek in 2018.
Nearly 193 species of birds have been spotted at the Pallikaranai marshland since 2010, he said.