Tagged Spoon-Billed Sandpiper Spotted in West Bengal After Epic 8,000km Journey
A critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper, recently sighted on Patibunia beach near Bakkhali in West Bengal, is believed to have traveled approximately 8,000 kilometers from the Chukotka region in Russia. Researchers involved in the conservation of this rare species identified the bird through a lime green tag on its right leg, which was attached when it was banded as a wild chick in Meinypilgyno, Chukotka, on July 6, 2025. This marks the first recorded sighting of the bird since it embarked on its migration along the East Asia-Australasian flyway.
Discovery and Identification by Birdwatchers
On March 29, birder Sandip Das, a founder member of the Kolkata-based Birdwatchers' Society, photographed a spoon-billed sandpiper on Patibunia beach, but that individual was untagged. Two days later, on March 31, fellow birder Jayanta Manna captured images of another spoon-billed sandpiper with a distinctive lime green tag on its right leg. The tag bore the code 'Lime 2K,' which enabled experts to trace the bird's origin and journey.
This discovery triggered rapid communication among conservationists, including Bangladesh-based scientist Sayam U Chowdhury, who has worked on spoon-billed sandpiper conservation in Russia, and scientists at the Zoological Survey of India. The collaborative effort confirmed the bird's identity and highlighted the importance of such sightings for tracking the species.
Conservation Efforts and Tagging System
The spoon-billed sandpiper is one of the world's most threatened birds, with fewer than 500 individuals estimated to survive in the wild. The tagging initiative, led by the Spoon-Billed Sandpiper Task Force, uses colored tags to monitor populations and migration patterns. Lime green tags are specifically reserved for wild-born birds, while white indicates head-started chicks (captive-bred) and yellow denotes birds tagged at stopover sites.
These tags, often inscribed with letters or numbers, allow conservationists to track individual birds along their migration routes through Asia, including key stopover locations like Rudong in China. Sightings reported by volunteer birdwatchers provide invaluable data on survival rates and migratory behaviors, aiding in the protection of this critically endangered species.
Historical Context and Significance
The first documented sighting of a spoon-billed sandpiper in Bengal occurred on April 1, 2018. Across India, sightings have been exceedingly rare, with notable reports including one by S Balachandran, a scientist at the Bombay Natural History Society, from Tamil Nadu in 1996. The recent sighting in West Bengal underscores the global nature of bird migration and the critical role of international conservation efforts.
Experts emphasize that each sighting contributes to a better understanding of the species' ecology and helps inform strategies to mitigate threats such as habitat loss and climate change. The journey of this tagged bird from Russia to India serves as a poignant reminder of the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the urgent need for continued vigilance in wildlife conservation.
