COIMBATORE: The four-day Pongal Bird Count (PBC) this year not only reaffirmed the state’s rich avian diversity but also delivered a rare surprise, with the first-ever sighting of a female bluethroat, a winter migrant, in Tirupattur.
A total of 343 bird species were recorded across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during the Pongal Bird Count 2026, held between January 14 and 17.
Among them were several migratory species seen in large numbers, including rosy starlings, barn swallows and northern pintails. Resident birds such as eastern cattle egrets, glossy ibises and Indian pond herons were also widely documented.
Besides, birders recorded several notable sightings apart from the bluethroat (Luscinia svecica). These included the tufted duck, taiga flycatcher (red-throated flycatcher) and the blue-cheeked bee-eater, underscoring the ecological diversity of the habitats surveyed.
A team led by B Surendhar, a primary school teacher from Puducherry, surveyed 52 wetlands across Puducherry, Cuddalore and Villupuram, recording 150 bird species. Surendhar, who has been participating in the Pongal Bird Count for the past 11 years, said this year threw up some rare records.
“The tufted duck was spotted for the first time in Villupuram, and the thick-billed warbler, usually associated with the Western Ghats, was also sighted there,” he said.
However, he noted a worrying trend in waterfowl numbers. “We did not record even a small number of several duck species, including the eurasian wigeon, during the four days.
This could be due to reduced water storage or drought-like conditions, as these species were commonly seen earlier in water bodies across Puducherry and Cuddalore,” he said, adding that surveys were conducted not only in wetlands but also in urban areas, villages and along access routes.
In southern Tamil Nadu, Dr B Kavitha Bharathi, Assistant Professor of Zoology at Poompuhar College, Melaiyur, spotted large numbers of knob-billed ducks and painted storks on a pond in Tirunelveli.
Based on her instruction, a team of 30 students was involved in a similar bird survey at the Poompuhar college surroundings, Kidaramkondan, Vanagiri, Tiruvengadu, and recorded 70 species. A total of 352 bird species were recorded in 2024 and the number had gone up to 383 in 2025. However, this year, only 343 species were recorded.
Birders attributed the dip partly to reduced contributions from birders in Kanniyakumari, which had seen significant participation last year. They also pointed out that several sightings are still under review and that more checklists are expected to be submitted in the coming days, after which the final figures will be known.