Cranes land in early

source: kuensel 

 Within the last two weeks, about 43 cranes arrived in Phobjikha

«The Black-necked cranes at Phobjikha (Photo : Bird Sherub, UWICE)
Black-necked cranes have been sighted at Phobjikha and Bumdeling valleys much earlier compared with past years.

Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) officials said the first group of three black-necked cranes including a juvenile was sighted on October 27 at Phobjikha and two adult cranes in Bumdeling on October 30.

“Within the last two weeks, about 43 cranes have arrived in Phobjikha, of which, six are juveniles,” RSPN’s Jigme said. In Bomdeling, Trashiyangtse, only two cranes were spotted so far.

Last year the cranes arrived at Phobjikha, which is about 3,000M above sea level, only around mid-November. The year saw a total of 347 cranes.

Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Conservation and Environment (UWICE) chief of research and education, Bird Sherub said the reason for the birds showing up early could be because of change in weather conditions up north.

He said the birds flocked to the country when it grew too cold at the Tibetan plateau, their summer roosting ground. The cranes spent about four months in the country before returning to Tibet around mid-march.

The crane population in the country, Bird Sherub said was on the rise, which provided research opportunities for bird lovers and wildlife officials.

Other roosting grounds for cranes in winter were Khotokha in Wangduephodrang, Gyetsa, Chumey and Thangbi in Bumthang and Bumdeling in Trashiyangtse.

Occasionally, a few birds were also sighted in Paro and Lhuentse.

RSPN records show increase in crane population from 225 in 1991-92 to 447 cranes in 2011-12.

Phobjikha saw the highest increase in the number of cranes from 102 in 1991-92 to 248 cranes in 2000-01, which then rose to 326 in 2009-10.

“In a few of the habitats including Bumdeling, however, the population has been decreasing because of habitat loss from flooding since 1994,” Bird Sherub said, adding there was a need for paddy field restoration in Trashiyangtse to provide cranes their foraging habitat.

“We might have lost crane population in Bumthang to grassland encroachment by blue pine,” he said. “Similarly in Phobjikha, habitat quality and carrying capacity could decrease as a result of dwarf bamboo bloom.”

A local ornithologist said they had yet to know and understood the cranes.

“Its feeding ecology is poorly understood,” he said. “We have more of assumptive explanations than actual understanding like knowing what cranes feed on actually.”

Bird Sherub said UWICE began studying the movement of the birds since 2011.

“Through the movement ecology studies, we should be able to understand its home range, daily activity pattern and energetics involved in transboundry migration,” he said. “The movement ecology research is being conducted in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology.”

Meanwhile, flocking of the cranes into the country also heralds the arrival of tourists, meaning a boom time for farmhouses and resorts in Phobjikha.

“With the number of bird watchers on the rise, our resort is fully booked for a month,” Dewachen resort in-charge in Phobjikha, Sonam said.

Farmhouse owners said they were inundated with phone calls for rooms.

“We had to turn down most requests because a majority of the farmhouses here have less than 10 rooms,” one farmhouse owner said.

RSPN and Phobjikha Environment Management Committee (PEMC) will be observing the 14th Annual Black-necked Crane Festival on November 11 to celebrate the arrival of the birds.

By Passang Norbu