SLUG: Who’s that Bird
When one visits any wetland or coast line in Goa, one winter migrant is very conspicuous and can always be seen wagging its tail up and down, bobbing its head vehemently and ever alert. This is the Common Sandpiper (Tringa Hypoleucos). A medium sized bird which breeds in North Europe and Central Asia, migrating to North Africa, India and South-East Asia in winter. The term Sandpiper originates from the unique feeding behavior of this and allied species, who insert their long specially adapted beaks into the soft mud of wetlands or sand of beaches to probe for prospective meal and once they find it, just snap it out like a pipe probe. Majority of their food comprises of shells, crabs and insects. Their habitat preference is very wide and can be found in any agricultural field, wetland, lake, mangrove or beach of Goa.
On the field, this is the easiest sandpiper to identify. They have a broad white triangular shoulder patch and a dusky band on their chest. Their flight pattern is also very unique with individuals flying just above the surface of water in a very jerky fashion uttering a shrill three note “te-te-te” call.
Not much is known about the migration route that this bird takes on their winter journey to India. It is speculated that they usually move along the coastlines and avoid travelling overland for long distances, but with more research going into migration patterns of birds, we will have better understanding in the future.
This species is usually encountered singly or in pairs. In a large wetland though, day count can reach up to 80-90 individuals. Common Sandpipers are very territorial and will defend their feeding ground aggressively. Their fights in a human perspective are very funny to observe and the best way to put it would be in Dr. Salim Ali’s own words “two birds will run parallel to each other casting malicious sidelong glances”. These territorial fights can go on for hours until one of them is forced to retreat.
International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Common Sandpiper as having least conservation concern but locally they are facing base level problems of habitat shrinking. Use of chemical pesticides in agricultural practices is a concern because during monsoons, these toxic chemicals are washed off from the fields’ into the wetlands where they accumulate within the aquatic plants and animals. When these birds feed in such polluted wetlands it can be fatal for them, a process which we all learn in schools as bio-magnification. To assess the population status of wetland birds, GBCN will conduct All Goa Waterbird Census in January 2016, which will help us understand how well our winter visitors are doing in Goa.
Image Credit: Saish Borkar
