NONGPOH: While Nagaland waits for the last batch of Amur Falcons to come back from Mongolia, the migratory birds have made a small hiatus at two Ri Bhoi villages in Meghalaya much to the delight of bird lovers in the State.
It was a proud moment for Ri Bhoi District as a high-value visitors arrived here causing much excitement among both bird lovers and the general public.
The migratory birds began their journey from South Africa and arrived in North East India from Siberia en route to their final destination via Somalia, Kenya and South Africa. These handsome raptors have one of the longest migration routes of upto 22, 000 kilometers in a year.
From Ri Bhoi District the migratory birds will fly to their next destination, Nagaland.
These birds arrive in these villages in Ri Bhoi during the month of October-November every year. The birds are unusual in that they migrate for a long distance over the sea and also continue their journey at night.
However, neither the State Wildlife department nor the State Biodiversity Board was aware or prepared for the arrival of such significant visitors.
The arrival of the migratory birds of prey was first informed to Esron Marwein, representative of the Energy & Resources Institute, New Delhi (TERI) who took the initiative to conduct an inspection to clarify on the matter with some officials representing the Natures’ Foster Organization, Bongaigaon, Assam, and discovered birds feathers scattered over a large area in the two villages which confirmed the presence of Amur falcons.
Taking note of such an important event in the district, Marwein, accompanied by members of the Ri Bhoi Youth Federation (RBYF) met Ri Bhoi Deputy Commissioner P. Pandey and apprised her of the matter and urged her to take initiative to ensure the safety and protection of the prized visitors during their stay in the remote villages of the district.
Acting promptly on the matter, the DC promulgated an order banning hunting and killing of the birds with immediate effect.
Marwein, with the help of the RBYF, organized an awareness meeting at Tyrso village on Thursday, and informed the people on the value and the importance of the visit of these birds to the State.
The RBYF, meanwhile, has lambasted the Meghalaya State Biodiversity Board for taking no initiative to set up biodiversity management committees in all villages of the State as directed by the National Biodiversity Authority Board of India.
“The Amur Falcons are given due importance in Nagaland which has been declared as the ‘Capital of Amur Falcons’,” RBYF said, while taking the initiative to declare Umru & Tyrso villages as the ‘Migration Resort of Amur Falcons’.
