A male Amur Falcon fitted with a satellite transmitter in Manipur on November 11 covered approximately 1,500 km in just two days to arrive in Odisha.

The Amur Falcon, named ‘Apapang’, was equipped with a satellite transmitter on Tuesday by scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, at Tamenglong forest in Manipur to monitor its migration path. Senior WII scientist Suresh Kumar reported that the bird crossed into Odisha on Thursday. “It flew past Balasore, Satkosia and Phulbani, and we located it at 11.30 am on Thursday at Baliguda in Kandhamal district,” he said.

Trio of Falcons fitted with lightweight transmitters

Three Amur Falcons: Apapang (male), Ahu (female), and Alang (female juvenile), were outfitted with 3.5-gram lightweight satellite transmitters and released from the Chiuluan roosting site in Tamenglong on Tuesday. The devices, secured with Teflon ribbons, will enable researchers to map the falcons’ transcontinental migration patterns, Kumar explained.

Rapid journey fuels conservation insights

“We are surprised that one of the tagged birds, Apapang, reached Odisha within two days after being released. The ongoing satellite tagging project aims to better understand their migratory behaviour and strengthen conservation efforts for this globally migrating species,” Kumar added.