Engineered sandbars don't measure up for nesting plovers

Date:  January 10, 2018

Source:  American Ornithological Society Publications Office

Summary:

Dams reduce the creation of natural sandbars, which is bad news for birds that depend on them for nesting habitat. More than 200 hectares of engineered sandbars have been built along the Missouri River to address this problem -- but how does this compare to the real thing? A new study takes advantage of a natural experiment created by the region's 2011 floods, demonstrating that engineered habitat doesn't provide the benefits of sandbars created by nature.

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Ringed birds in Navi Mumbai wetlands makes ornithologists smile

Vijay Singh | TNN | May 8, 2017, 07.56 PM IST

NAVI MUMBAI: There is a wave of enthusiasm and happiness among ornithologists after the recent resighting of ringed /colour tagged birds in the wetlands of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Birds are known to accentuate the health of their surroundings and hence such revisits by the same winged visitors are considered significant.

Curlew Sandpipers and Plovers were a few of them which were spotted recently. The resighting of these birds reinforce the importance of ringing studies being undertaken over the years. 

Moreover, bird ringing studies help to understand the paths used by birds over long journeys of migration, their stop-overs and preferences. Dr Deepak Apte, Director of Bombay Natural History Society, notes: "The sighting of these ringed / colour tagged birds assumes great significance as it states that they are not casual visitors to the wetlands in Mumbai. We urge members and the birding community to get back to us with information about any sightings of ringed / colour tagged birds. This will be helpful in filling the information gaps in habitat preference and movement of long distance migratory birds." Mudflats offer a valuable food source derived from their high productivity and the resultant high quantity of prey items for fish and waterbirds. This makes mudflats significant as feeding and roosting grounds for local as well as migratory birds, informed a BNHS spokesperson. 

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