Rare Spoon-billed Sandpiper Sighted in West Bengal's Coastal Region
In a significant ornithological event, a critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper was photographed near Bakkhali in West Bengal on Sunday. This sighting represents only the second photographic record of this rare shorebird in the state, highlighting its precarious status in the wild.
Discovery by Local Birdwatchers
The bird was first spotted and photographed by Sandip Das, a birder and founder member of the Birdwatchers' Society, at Patibunia beach near Bakkhali. Das was accompanied by fellow birders Soumya Aon and Kaustav Khan, who also captured images of the sandpiper. According to Das, the bird did not have any leg rings, suggesting it is likely wild-bred rather than from captive breeding programs.
"Its first photographic record from Bengal came in April 2018. It's critically endangered with hardly 500 individuals surviving in the wild now. They are now being captively bred and released in the wild. The bird that we photographed on Sunday didn't have any ring on its legs. It seems to be wild-bred," Das explained.
Habitat and Migration Patterns
Spoon-billed sandpipers breed in the sea coasts and adjacent hinterland of the Chukchi Peninsula and the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The sandpiper observed on Sunday was seen alongside other birds like the red-necked stint and Tibetan sand plover, which also breed in northeastern Russia. "So, this has probably come from the same region," Das added, indicating a migratory connection.
Threats to Survival
A report from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology identifies two primary factors driving the population decline of spoon-billed sandpipers:
- Habitat Loss: Large-scale reclamation projects in the Yellow Sea region, particularly in China and South Korea, have eliminated crucial migratory stopover habitats. The Saemangeum seawall, for instance, destroyed a key refueling site for half a million migrating shorebirds.
- Subsistence Hunting: In wintering grounds like Myanmar's Bay of Martaban, hunting with nets remains a common threat, impacting at least half of the remaining population.
"It is one of many long-distance migrant shorebirds whose populations depend on intertidal habitats to fuel their migrations. The spoon-billed sandpiper is the first of these species to be pushed to the brink of extinction, but others like the great knot may follow if additional development continues as planned," the report stated.
Historical Context and Conservation Efforts
Before the Bengal records, the spoon-billed sandpiper was sighted in Tamil Nadu in 1996 by S Balachandran of the Bombay Natural History Society. Das noted that the previous photographic record in Bengal was from Kargil beach in South 24 Parganas on April 1, 2018. "We have been scanning the region since then every year during this period and finally got the species again on Sunday," he said, underscoring the rarity of such sightings in India.
With only about 500 individuals left globally, conservation efforts include captive breeding and release programs. This recent sighting in Bengal offers a glimmer of hope but also reinforces the urgent need for habitat protection and anti-hunting measures to prevent extinction.
