Winged guest from North America comes as a surprise for bird watchers in Haryana
: Grey Plover, a migratory bird from North America, surprised the bird watchers in Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary in Haryana by stopping here for the first time. While it breeds in the Arctic region in summers, grey plover only stops by at coastal areas during migration.
So when the bird watchers spotted a small group of this bird here, they had to double check.
“Grey plovers cover a lot of distance in their long migration. But they only enjoy coastal areas. In India, they are at times seen in Kutch. But here they have come for the first time ever. It may be because of adequate food and security provisions made by us, especially for these birds,” said Sunder Sambharya, Jhajjar forest officer.
Sambharya said the gender of the grey plovers can only be ascertained during their breeding season, when the belly of the male bird changes its colour to black, while the female remains same.
The name of the male bird is also changed to black bellied plover during the breeding season.
This was the second bird that was spotted here for the first time by bird watchers.
Earlier, they had spotted a red-necked phalarope that had stopped over for four days here from North America. Sambharya said people in the region can go to Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary and waterlogged villages such as Dhor in Jhajjar and Katesra in Rohtak to view the beautiful migratory birds early in the mornings.
“Dunlin, common crane, common teals, greater flamingos, shoveler duck and pintail duck are some of the birds coming from Central Asia and Europe that have made the Bhindawas region their home this winter season,” he said.