Winter visitors

Geetha Iyer

September is here and in some parts of India one might begin to see the arrival of birds that were not seen earlier. October is definitely the time when migratory birds begin to show up in various wetlands in India. Not only wetland birds but even those that prefer groves and forests also begin to arrive. Bird migration is fascinating and an ideal topic for projects. With the first set of exams just over and short vacation time from school, teachers can help plan a project on bird migration for their students. Shore birds or those arriving at different wetlands are easier to study than those found in wooded areas. A wetland (paddy fields, ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, marshes, salt pans, seashores) offers an open area to observe birds. In forests, fruit orchards or sacred groves it is often difficult to spot them.

A project is an opportunity to study concepts in an integrated manner. Migration offers an opportunity to enhance thinking and writing skills through planning, investigating, collecting data, analyzing and inferring to learn the process of arriving at conclusions. Magnetism, geographic areas, flight, urban architecture, poetry, storytelling are topics that may be studied by observing bird migration. It offers an opportunity for creative writing, art work, drawing maps and reading, among several other educational activities. On another level the project can simply be a recreational one, aimed at developing a hobby – bird watching. Bird watching can be a great stress reliever.

Requirements for a study project
An area of study and a clear objective are two most important requirements. Often, if the objectives of the study are not clearly stated then the project tends to meander off and students end up collecting information without improving their cognitive skills. Teachers may go through some of the sites listed under references to know what concepts about bird migration can be learnt through the objectives they have chosen.

Based on the objectives of the project, the presentation of the project could be in the form of a series of posters, paintings/artwork of a few birds, stories about a migrating bird or birds (its trials and travails could fire a youngster’s imagination), map work showing the migratory route or scientific communication.

Here are a few questions that may help kick start a discussion on bird migration before deciding how the teacher and students want to proceed:
How do birds decide that it’s time to migrate?
Why do they migrate?
How do birds learn/decide where to go?
How do they navigate?
What are some of the dangers or obstacles they have to face?
How do they overcome the migration hazards?
What are “migration traps” and “range maps”?
Are all migrants from outside our country or are there local migrants too? (Types of migration)

If you have access to computers, then let your students play this game to get a basic understanding of what birds do/need during migration. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/migratory-birds/play-migration-game After they have played this game, you may move on to your project or ask them to design a similar game for an Indian bird – the Amur falcon.

As it is easier to observe wetland birds I have described here for you a few of the waders (or shorebirds) that may be studied for the project or to enjoy your holidays by watching birds as a hobby.

You may choose any or all of them to observe and study. Information about these birds is available from the references given below.

Waders

Sandpipers: There are different species of sandpipers that migrate to warmer parts of India during winter. You can see them arriving at the coastal regions from October onwards. A salt pan is an ideal place to observe these birds as they go about feeding on invertebrates from the muddy slush. As they are waders, they may be spotted only in shallow waters and so look for them at the water’s edge, near the banks of rivers, streams or other water bodies. These are medium sized birds measuring 19-26 cms. Commonly seen are the common, marsh, wood, green and terek sandpipers. Less commonly spotted are the curlew and spoon-billed sandpipers. Careful observation to note for specific features is required to differentiate the sandpipers.

Common sandpiper – 19-21 cm: It generally has a horizontal stance, a bobbing action and a white wing bar will help you identify this bird. This bird breeds in the Himalayas and is a winter visitor down south.

Marsh and Green Sandpipers are almost similar in size, between 21-24 cms. The former is a smart and dainty looking bird with a long pointed bill, whereas the latter is not so slender and its beak is shorter and not as sharp and pointed as the marsh sandpiper’s.

A prominent supercillium (band above the eye), slender build, and yellowish legs, this sandpiper is smaller than the above two, measuring 18-21 cms. They feed on aquatic insects and molluscs.

Stints: These are small waders (13-15 cms) and two species of stints may be seen – Little and Temminck’s stint which are not very easily distinguished. The former is more roundish and stands more upright than the latter. It is a commonly seen winter visitor.

Black-winged stilts: This is a long-legged wader bird that cannot be missed. As its name suggests it has long, bright, pink coloured legs on which rests a white body with only the wings being black. They are found in groups and the immature ones in the population have grey wings. They may be seen in marshes, salt pans, shallow lakes and ponds. Their main foods are insects and crustaceans.

Other waders that may be noticed are the plovers, curlews, shanks, avocets, oystercatchers, snipes, godwits, etc.

Ducks

These are found mostly in freshwater habitats and tidal creeks. Male of the species are easier to spot than females.

Common teal: Widely seen winter visitor, this is a medium sized duck, 34-38 cm. The male has a chestnut coloured head with a green band around and behind the eye. If far away, then look out for a yellow triangle next to the posterior end of the tail.

Garganey: Bigger than the teal (37-41 cm) it has a white stripe running from near the eye to the neck. Its breast is brown, but the flanks (the sides of the body below the wings,) are grey. The wings are blue-grey in colour during flight.

Northern pintail: 51-56 cms, this duck is easily recognizable by its long pointed tail which is how it gets its common name. The male has a brown head and a white thin stripe runs down from the side of the head to the neck. It is white below the head up to the breast and then greyish in colour.

Northern Shoveler: Its beak is its identifying feature which is long, thick and shaped like a spatula. The male has a dark green head, white breast and chestnut coloured flanks. Part of the wings is bluish in colour.

Terns: There are several species of terns that may be seen. The most common one is the whiskered tern which measures around 23-25 cm. Others that are found are the little tern almost similar in size; common tern which is slightly larger and Caspian terns which are fairly big terns measuring 47-54 cms. A large red bill and black capped head, short tail but broad wings, the Caspian tern may be seen along coastal waters. Almost all terns that I have seen have been observed at the salt pans.

There are many, many more migrant birds that arrive in wetlands. Due to space constraints I have mentioned a few with the hope that when you begin to look out for them, you will naturally learn a lot more than what I have given here. This is but a ‘teaser’ to start you off on a great hobby that will last your life time.

References

• https://www.fws.gov/birds/MBTreaty100/fi les/Education/BirdMigrationStudy-BombayHookNWR.pdf – Reading material for activity
• http://www.early-bird.in/resources/ – Very useful for any activity on birds. Flash cards, pamphlets with bird images and information; games; bird calls freely downloadable; It is all about birds from India
• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/physics/lessons/elementary/pdfs/tm – Everything about birds – Lesson plans for observing and studying birds
• https://migration.pwnet.org/stopovers/santa_maria_lessons.php – Interesting activities on migration from elementary to high school levels
• http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ – Information available about migrants to India
• https://www.allaboutbirds.org/the-basics-how-why-and-whereof-bird-migration/

The author is a consultant for science and environment education. She can be reached at scopsowl@gmail.com.