NASHIK: The rarest bird to spot, the Amur Falcon, died tragically in Nashik. The bird was on a return journey to its native Siberia. On Thursday, the forest official Uttam Patil got an unknown call that a bird has fallen near Indira Nagar. Accordingly, he informed about it to wildlife warden of Nashik and Eco Echo Foundation’s member Vaibhav Bhogale. The forest officials and Bhogale reached the spot and found that it was not an ordinary bird but Amur Falcon that travels from Siberia.
After medical inspection, it became clear that it fell due to dehydration, and a house cat has hit it, making its eye injured. The veterinary medical officers gave the bird the necessary treatment. Unfortunately, the bird’s condition was out of recovery as it has hit the ground hard. This bird created a buzz among birdwatchers and created headlines for more than a week after it was spotted in Lonawala.
The shutterbugs started a gathering in Lonawala to get a glimpse of this bird. The situation was so out of hand that the police and forest department had to take action on bird watchers. The Nashikites seemed unlucky this time as the bird was spotted but in a tragic situation. It was the first sighting of the Amur Falcon in Nashik. Bird lovers have expressed their grief after the incident.
Amur Falcon migrates from Mongolia. The birds halt here just before crossing the ocean into Africa. It is a small raptor of the falcon family and breeds in south-eastern Siberia and northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern Africa. They visit India during their migration journey in December and January.
