“It was a rare sighting. We had never seen such huge flocks,” says Visakhapatnam-based birding enthusiast Vivek Rathod, when he noticed a big group of black and white waders circling the water at Naupada salt pans in Srikakulam district earlier this year. It was the pied avocet, a migratory bird species that breeds in Europe and Central Asia, arriving in Africa and southern Asia during winters.
“I was on my regular birding trip to the place and never expected to see this bird as it was never before reported from here. We used to travel to Kakinada to see just about two to three pied avocets,” says Vivek, a board member of Wildlife Conservation Through Research and Education, a Visakhapatnam-based organisation. This time, he was surprised to see a flock of 170 pied avocets foraging in the shallow brackish water, scything their bills from side to side.
Earlier in June, large flocks of greater painted snipe and slaty-breasted rail was spotted by Bhupen Sonowal, another birding enthusiastic, at Podugupalem, one of the major birding hotspots of Visakhapatnam. “We generally see only three or four of these species at a time. They are shy birds and prefer to stay in bushes. But this time, we were surprised to spot at least 30 from each species,” says Janardhan Uppada, an avid birder. The birders also recorded the presence of brown crake, a waterbird, for the first time at the same place. “There can be a surprise at every corner, if you are watchful and careful to not disturb the bird habitats around us,” says Janardhan as he embarks on another season of birding, armed with his camera and lens and a field guide.
