Little stints most populous bird across TN wetlands

CHENNAI: Little Stints (Kosu Ullan), that weigh less than 50 gm, may be migratory birds that can travel upto 8,000 km for breeding, but they are the most populous birds in the State, as per the Tamil Nadu Synchronized Bird Estimate 2024.

According to the report, the State Forest Department had sighted 68,896 Little Stints across the wetlands in Tamil Nadu during the census, which is more than 10% of the total birds identified. The census was conducted on January 27 and 28 this year.

Following the Little Stints, 42,874 Cattle Egrets were seen, which is the second most populous bird species.KVRK Thirunaranan, founder, The Nature Trust, said that though these numbers looked promising, it wasn’t surprising. “We’ve seen around 7,000 Little Stints in Pallikaranai and thousands more in Odiyur lake,” he added.

Emphasising the importance of Cattle Egrets in helping farmers, Thirunaranan said that the resident bird species would eat pests that affect crops and parasites that affect cattle.

“If Cattle Egrets are seen in farmlands, there is no need for pesticides. This species is friendly to farmers. In Pallikaranai, we sighted around 2,500 Cattle Egrets. The numbers are decreasing due to reducing farmlands and cattle rearing,” he explained.

Interestingly, Cattle Egrets, along with Indian Pond Heron, are unique in their migratory pattern as they would migrate and breed during summer, while other birds migrate during northeast monsoon season.

Apart from Little Stints, which prey on larvae including that of mosquitoes, and Cattle Egrets, a significant number of Little Cormorants (resident bird), Northern Pintails, Greater Flamingos (both migrants) and Little Egrets (residents) were sighted during the census. Other important sightings were migratory birds such as the Bar-headed goose, Black-bellied plover, Oriental Pratincole, Common tern and Whimbrel.

It may be noted that 6,80,028 birds covering 389 bird species were found in the estimation. Out of this, 120 species are found to be water birds and the remaining 269 are terrestrial bird species. Around 79% (5.36 lakh) are water birds and 21% (1.43 lakh) are terrestrial birds.

Interestingly, more than 50% of the birds sighted during the census were in 7 divisions including Chennai. Others are Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Erode, Namakkal, Ramanathapuram and Perambalur. The estimation was conducted in 51 divisions.

While the 7 divisions have 3,49,334 birds (51.37%), the remaining have 3,30,694 birds. Among the seven, Nagapattinam has 1,38,346 birds followed by Tiruvarur with 68,321. Interestingly, Chennai has 31,869 birds. Erode and Coimbatore have higher species diversity with 202 and 201 species respectively. Chennai has 148 species.

A total of 9,800 members participated in this survey, including 6,450 volunteers, bird enthusiasts, NGOs and 3,350 staff from the State Forest Department. A department official, who took part in the census, said that the actual number of bird population would be much higher. “We use binoculars to count the birds. In coastal wetlands, it will be very difficult to have clear vision beyond the 500-metre range,” the official added.