Marked Migratory Shorebirds Spotted on Keralam Coast Give New Clues on Travel Routes

Winter migratory bird season has brought two marked shorebirds to the Keralam coast, helping experts track migration routes, stopover sites, and links between breeding and wintering grounds. A Eurasian whimbrel ringed at Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve more than six years ago has been resighted on Elathur beach in Kozhikode, while a Tibetan sand-plover spotted on Chavakkad beach in Thrissur had been banded in Mumbai in 2025. Kozhikode-based ornithologist Abdulla Paleri photographed the Eurasian whimbrel on September 19 on Elathur beach, about 20 km from the reserve. The bird carried a black flag with the alphanumeric code '0J3' on its left leg and a metal ring on its right leg, indicating it was marked in south India under a Bombay Natural History Society bird-banding programme. BNHS records show the bird was originally ringed on January 29, 2020, at the Kadalundi reserve by BNHS scientist S. Sivakumar. Mr. Paleri noted that the bird likely returned to its breeding grounds in Europe or Central Asia after being ringed before migrating back to the Kozhikode coast. Meanwhile, on September 12, birdwatcher P.P. Sreenivasan photographed a Tibetan sand-plover on Chavakkad beach with two white flags bearing the code 'HZN' on its right leg and a metal ring on its left leg. Two white flags indicate programmes conducted by the BNHS in the rest of India. BNHS information shows this bird was banded on March 27, 2025, in Mumbai by researcher Kiran Dalvi. Mr. Sreenivasan stated the bird may have traveled roughly 1,000 km to Thrissur after being banded in Mumbai, or returned to its Himalayan or Tibetan breeding grounds before migrating to Keralam. P.O. Nameer, Dean of the College of Climate Change and Environmental Science at Kerala Agricultural University, explained that resighting marked shorebirds offers a clear glimpse into their journeys, stopover sites, and range connections, which helps experts piece together migration patterns across seasons.