E-Paper
Rare sighting of Baikal Teal duck in Manipur after 109 years
A team from the Wildlife Explorers Manipur sighted the duck with a striking head pattern during a seasonal avian monitoring exercise at Lamphelpat wetland on January 10
The rare Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), also known as the bimaculate duck, has been sighted on the outskirts of Manipur’s capital Imphal after 109 years at the Lamphelpat wetland during this winter migratory bird season.
A team from the Wildlife Explorers Manipur (WEM) sighted the duck with a striking head pattern during a seasonal avian monitoring exercise at Lamphelpat wetland on Wednesday (January 10).
The team which recently conducted the first Amur falcon census in Manipur, captured the lone species of this duck, known as ‘Surit-man’ in Manipuri (Meiteilon) that breeds in Eastern Russia and winters in East Asia, on their cameras.
“There are only two instances of shooting records of this species in the state – first on 16 March 1913 and second on 28 November 1915 by JC Higgins, later identified by Bombay Natural History Society. There are no other records from the state since then and therefore, this sighting is significant and remarkable,” WEM secretary E Premjit, who is also a member of the Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN), said.
Baikal Teal has made its way through the Asian flyway to reach Lamphelpat wetland, which is beyond the geographical range of its migration, and they may be in these areas as passage for short time, according to state coordinator RK Birjit of IBCN Manipur. “That is why the species can be seen rarely here,” he said.
Another aspect of a few handful sightings recorded in Manipur could be related to extreme weather and climate change in its breeding ground in Siberia, Russia as well as its stopover sites and choosing a marginal habitat, he added.
Baikal Teal is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, though it was classified as Vulnerable before 2011 due to hunting and destruction of its wintering wetland habitats, adds the functionary of WEM which had been conducting regular bird census at the state wetlands since its establishment in 2018.
At the Lamphelpat wetland, the team had also photographed the Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), critically endangered Baer’s pochard, near-threatened Ferrugenous pochard, the vulnerable Common pochard, etc., in the recent past. Even a female Baikal Teal was once photographed near Imphal sometime back, but it was unreported.
Considering this aspect, the Lamphelpat wetland could be become an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) in the near future if the agreed criteria is fulfilled, feels Kh Brajeshkumar of WEM.
Coincidentally, the state government is currently undertaking a wetland rejuvenating initiative at Lamphelpat by cleaning and revitalising its ecosystem.
