Guwahati: Manipur conducted its first-ever Amur falcon census on Friday in the forest-rich Tamenglong district.
Locals in the Zeliangrong-Naga-dominated district headquarters, about 155 kilometers from the state capital Imphal, said that the number of long-distance flying migratory birds that arrived in Manipur this year is somewhat lesser than in previous years.
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Experts from Wildlife Explorer Manipur (WEM), supported by volunteers from the Rainforest Club Tamenglong (RCT) and personnel from the state forest department, carried out the census exercise at three roosting sites of the Amur falcons in the thick jungles of Chuilon along the banks of Barak river since early morning till noon.
Drones, Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, and telephoto cameras were used to conduct the census. According to the WEM, the census figure of the raptors will be known only after totaling the recorded figure of birds through the electronic gadgets from the three rooting sites.
“Owing to poor internet service in the district, the tabulation could not be done immediately,” said WEM secretary Elangbam Premjit Singh.
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Tamenglong Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Amandeep, who is the brainchild behind the census, said, “The census task would give a big help in studying the migratory pattern in terms of numbers as well as our efforts in stepping up of the conservation works of the beautiful birds.”
Ahead of the census programme, the WEM experts provided a short-term training course on bird census to RCT volunteers as well as village volunteers at Tamenlong district headquarters.
Besides the census programme, the division as well as the RCT are currently conducting up a series of programmes to spread awareness among the villagers to show their love and protect the Amur falcons during their seasonal migratory period in Tamenglong.
The Amur falcons land in Manipur, mostly in Tamenglong and neighboring Nagaland in mid-October from their breeding grounds in South Eastern Siberia and Northern China.
After roosting for about a month, the raptors, locally known as ‘Akhoipuina’ or ‘Kahoipuina’ in the Rongmei dialect, will fly towards the Southern and Eastern parts of Africa and flock for a short time before moving towards their breeding grounds.