Marked shorebirds provide new clues to migration along Kerala coast

A Eurasian whimbrel ringed more than six years ago in Kerala has been resighted on Elathur beach in Kozhikode, providing new information about the movement of migratory shorebirds along the coast. The bird was photographed on September 19 by ornithologist Abdulla Paleri. It carried a black flag marked “0J3” on its left leg and a metal ring on its right leg.

The Bombay Natural History Society confirmed that it had been ringed at the Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve on January 29, 2020. The observation was reported as the first resighting of that particular Eurasian whimbrel. Mr.

Paleri said the bird may have returned to breeding grounds in Europe or Central Asia after being marked and later migrated back to the Kozhikode coast, although the source material presents this as a possibility. A second marked shorebird, a Tibetan sand-plover, was seen on Chavakkad beach in Thrissur on September 12. It carried two white flags marked “HZN” and a metal ring.

The bird had been banded in Mumbai on March 27, 2025, by researcher Kiran Dalvi, according to information provided by the BNHS. Birdwatcher P.P. Sreenivasan said the plover might have travelled from the Himalayas or Tibet to Mumbai before reaching Thrissur, or might have returned north after visiting Mumbai and later migrated to Kerala.

These routes remain possibilities rather than confirmed accounts. P.O. Nameer of Kerala Agricultural University said records of individually marked birds can reveal their travel routes, stop-over sites and links between breeding and wintering grounds.

The observations came as the winter migratory season began. Photographs of both birds were sent to the BNHS for information about their ringing and banding histories.