From ETV Bharat

Bird watchers in the Malda district of West Bengal have a reason to cheer. And also have a note of caution. For the first time in nearly five decades, a rare sighting of the Australasian Grass Owl has been made in the district. Moreover, for the first time, the bird has been clicked on camera, which ornithologists say, is indeed rare.

The district forest officials have confirmed the sighting but are cautious about revealing the location of the sighting. They say it is for the sake of the safety of the avian species.

Australasian Grass Owls are mostly found in the grasslands, moors and plains of Australia and some select countries of Asia. For the past couple of years, these Owls have been sighted in some locations of the Northeast. Australasian Grass Owls nest in the grasslands and lay eggs. According to the Bombay Natural History Society records, the earliest known sighting of Australasian Grass Owls in Bengal was in 1920, in the forests of Jalpaiguri in north Bengal. 60 years later, the next sighting happened in 1980, in Santiniketan. And that was the last, till this year.

On March 9, three bird watchers of Malda, Sandip Das, Swarup Sarkar and Saikat Das, had joined a survey team of the state forest department and were working in the sand heads and banks of the Ganges near Panchanandapur, within the jurisdiction of Kaliachak Block 2. It was during that time that the trio first spotted the avian species. The extremely elated trio says that though the Australasian Grass Owl was spotted in 1920 and 1960 in West Bengal, they were never photographed. Last Sunday, Sandip, Swarup and Saikat, did that.

The large tract from the north of Farakka Barrage to Kataha Diara of Ratua in Malda is considered as an Important Bird Area (IBA). The area gets this distinction for being the favourite area for various avian species almost round the year. In the winters, the Malda IBA turns into a heaven for migratory birds and also becoming one of the most favoured spots for bird watchers, ornithologists, researchers and others.

Forest officials say that this year the survey team have located at least 150 different avian species congregating all through the Malda IBA. Since December last year, a series of surveys have been conducted in phases to list and categorise migratory and other avian species flocking his particular tract. Officials said there are several sand heads inside as well as along the banks of the Ganges in this area and though some of them have habitation, many others lie desolate. And these are the favourite spots for the birds.

Subhasis Sengupta, secretary of the Malda unit of Green People India, said, “Every year, we conduct a survey and census of avian species along with the forest department during the winters. This year, the department had informed us that it would be conducting the census across the entire Ganges sand heads and both migratory as well as local birds will be included. Accordingly the census was conducted in four phases from December to March on the Ganges sand heads, Farakka Barrage, Kataha Diyara close to Bihar and along the banks of Fulhar River. Every phase had four boats going to all the sand heads and banks to conduct the survey.”

“We have to understand that the Malda IBA also is a part of the Central Asia fly zone, which effectively means that this is one of the popular routes for migratory birds coming to India annually. The fourth phase of our census ended on March 9 and that was the day when the Australasian Grass Owls were spotted. Sandip Das had first clicked the photograph and on the next day when we revisited the sand heads along with forest officials, we could again click more photographs,” said Subhasis, who is also a bird lover and a bird photographer.

Outlining the details about the spotting of Australasian Grass Owls, Subhashis told ETV Bharat, “Australasian Grass Owls used to frequent the grasslands between Bihar’s Purnia and Bengal’s Malda and we have found references of this species in writings as early as in 1927. In 1920, British ornithologist CM English had spotted Grass Owls in Jalpaiguri and then in 1980, renowned ornithologist Ajay Home had sighted Grass Owls for the last time in Santiniketan. This time, our sighting with photographs is significant in tracking the Australasian Grass Owls in Bengal as depleting grasslands, especially on the sand heads of rivers, have driven away this species from the state.”

Divisional Forest Officer, Malda, Jiju Jaesper J said, “This is the first time someone has photographed Australasian Grass Owls in Bengal. Three birds were spotted during our survey and census, but we are not disclosing the exact location due to security reasons. Though these Owls are spotted in the Northeast, they were missing from Bengal. We will approach the district administration to secure the sand head and grasslands for the safety of the birds.”

Bird lover and researcher Kallol Majumdar said, “Earlier the climate of Bengal was conducive for Grass Owls to come and nest here. Though this species is very close to Barn Owls in terms of looks, their backs are distinctly different. These days, temperatures in some parts of Bengal match temperatures of Rajasthan. But, there has been a minor difference in quality of air in Malda in recent times. Though temperatures shoot up even today, we think cleaner air and some increase of grasslands on the sand heads in the Ganges IBA are now attracting the birds to Bengal.”

“This year during the survey and census of the Malda IBA, there have plenty of sightings of Common Pochards, Indian Spot-billed Ducks, Greylag Geese, Asian Woolly-necked Storks, Bar-headed Geese, Red-crested Pochards, Eurasian Wigeons, Common Shelducks, Ruddy Shelducks, Ospreys and Peregrine Falcons. We have even sighted Smews and Greater Scaups in the IBA, which indicates that the nature of the IBA is gradually becoming habitable for migratory birds. We can only hope that more birds come to Bengal every year,” added Majumdar.