Mumbai: The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is set to map the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) with large-scale ringing of birds along the coast of Maharashtra to study the status of globally-threatened and rare species moving to Indian wintering grounds.

Deepak Apte, director, BNHS, told The Hindu that they have received permissions from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh, to begin the study by September-end.

“The ringing of birds will help them study the movement and splitting pattern of short and long distance migratory birds and document their staging in the wintering areas along the Indian coast. We are in the initial stages where flags and rings are being made. The process of trapping birds will be carried out by professionals,” said Dr. Apte.

Curlew sandpiper

Nearly 1,500 birds, including curlew sandpiper, were ringed between December 2014 and February 2015. During the flamingo festival in April, experts from BNHS have spotted the ringed curlew sandpipers at Sewri jetty wetlands. They said for curlew sandpipers, Mumbai is the stopover.

TuhinaKatti, a scientist with BNHS, said, “Ringing is important in two ways. Firstly, we come to understand the health of the habitat in which the birds have stayed. It is also significant in studying the lifespan of a particular bird, and if the species are abundant in number or have become extinct.”

Specific paths

Ms. Katti said another aspect of bird monitoring is to understand the specific paths used by birds during migration. “Birds use pathways to complete their annual migration and these routes support millions carrying out a strenuous journey of thousands of kilometres every year. Moreover, the species become the controlling agent of the pests in the region. In case of an outbreak of bird

flu or any such disease, if the pathways are known, the model for how the disease spreads can be generated and action taken.”