Amur Falcons spotted in Assam

At least 600 Amur Falcons have been spotted this year in some areas of Morigaon district of Assam after more than a decade.
The falcons were spotted by conservationists and bird watchers at Borigaon, Borbori and Nellie areas of Morigaon district of central Assam during the last few days, Rituraj Phukan, general secretary of environmental NGO Green Guard Nature Organisation, told PTI.
The birds were found roosting on power transmission lines or flying overhead.
Members of Green Guard Nature Organization had recorded nearly 18,000 birds near Morigaon in 2001, which was unprecedented in Assam. However, only a handful of birds had been spotted during the intervening years - mostly near Amchoi in Morigaon, Phukan said.

Thousands of Amur Falcons usually congregate at the Doyang reservoir in Nagaland and were in news after a number of them were killed by local hunters for food.
Subsequently, an awareness programme has been launched in the neighbouring state and thousands of falcons have come to roost there.

However, the birds may still be killed in other areas, particularly in the Karbi hills of Assam, he said stressing on the need to spread awareness for its conservation.
Amur Falcons are small, slender raptors, with one of the most arduous annual migration of over 22,000 km. Their entire population travels in flocks after leaving the breeding areas in eastern Siberia, northern China, Mongolia, Manchuria and North Korea from late August to September.

There are stopovers in India and Bangladesh for several weeks to fatten up, and their arrival in north east India is attributed to the stopover period.