Chennai: Birders in Chennai have a new reason to celebrate this season, as a pair of Terek sandpipers has arrived at the Pallikaranai marshland (PML). This is a first for the marshland. The sighting pushes the wetland’s documented bird tally to 205 species, up from 204.G Gowthaman, who monitors birds at the marshland, said every birding season brings a fresh migratory visitor to the wetland, and this year it is the Terek sandpiper’s turn.The bird breeds far away in southern Finland, northwest Russia and Ukraine, and eastward through central Siberia to Anadyrland, undertaking a journey of several thousand kilometres to spend winter at PML.The species has a documented history in Tamil Nadu. Nearly forty years ago, researchers from the Bombay Natural History Society ringed a Terek sandpiper at Point Calimere Bird Sanctuary, and the same bird was later sighted in Ramanathapuram a year later. In a separate case, a Terek sandpiper ringed in Russia was recovered in Nagapattinam.Adding to the excitement, a few grey-headed lapwings have turned up nearly 20 days ahead of schedule. These birds, which travel all the way from South Korea, usually arrive only in the first week of October.Chennai District Forest Officer V A Saravanan attributed the burst of activity to recent water drainage at the marshland, which has exposed soft mud, ideal habitat for wading birds. Migratory ducks such as the Northern Shoveler and Garganey have also already reached the wetland, alongside the sandpipers and lapwings.Other visitors this season include the greater sand plover and lesser sand plover. “Usually, these migrants will be found in single digits. But surprisingly, this time 40 of them were recorded in the marshland,” said K V R K Thirunaranan, founder of the Nature Trust, which has monitored the marshland’s birdlife for over a decade.Common redshanks, too, normally appear in small numbers, but Trust members counted 40 of them this time, another pleasant surprise for local birders.With sightings piling up early and in unusual numbers, Gowthaman said he is optimistic that this season could turn out to be an exceptional one for birdwatchers visiting Pallikaranai.
