Thirty-one-year-old Faizan Hussain, an advertising professional with a passion for wildlife and nature photography, could not have asked for a better sight to start his day after spotting winter migratory birds such as red-crested pochards bar-headed geese in the lakes of Medak and Jogipet recently.
“That they continue to visit Telangana gives me great satisfaction, for there are few sights in birding better than these beautiful species,” says Faizan in a chat with The Hindu.
“I was awe-struck by the migration of numerous bird species. Over the past few weeks, I immersed myself in exploring the secluded lakes of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, eagerly anticipating their arrival. My focus had been on spotting bar-headed geese,” he explained.
Recently, birders Dr. Jairam Chander Pingle and Shantaram and Faizan were treated to the visual feast of a variety of migratory birds appearing in the feeder lakes. “To our delight, we saw a flock of approximately 20-30 reddish birds emerging gracefully from the bushes. We suddenly realised that they were red-crested pochards, last sighted in Adilabad in 2021,” said the birder.
Faizan said they spotted many birds such as the common pochard, Eurasian teal, ruddy shelduck, flamingos, spoonbill, Eurasian wigeon, common pygmy goose, northern shoveler, northern pintail, woolly-necked stork, knob-billed duck, Siberian stonechat, garganey, black-tailed godwit, spot-billed duck, lesser whistling duck and rosy starling,” Faizan said.
It was a surprising phenomenon that should be a big news for other birders as well for the simple reason that the birds continued to visit Telangana, Faizan said, adding that they believed each of the secluded waterbodies hosted one or more migratory species.
The influx of diverse avian life not only contributed to the ecological richness of Telangana but also provided an unparalleled opportunity for bird enthusiasts and researchers to witness and study the evolving patterns of avian migration in the region, he concluded.
