Amur Falcon Migration

 

Upper image is a male, lower is a female

One very cool thing about living in Iringa region is that we are on the migration path of the amazing and beautiful Amur Falcon. During migration, the Amur Falcon undertakes the longest regular overwater passage of any raptor (ie birds of prey, ie birds that actively hunt and eat invertebrates), crossing over the Indian Ocean between southwestern India and tropical East Africa. One does not have to be a birdwatcher to appreciate the beauty, strangeness, and power of a mass of birds filing the sky in all directions.

Absolutely insane journey

 

The Amur Falcon's migration is pretty insane and while researching this blog I found another blog post about a sanctuary in India that can receive 140,000 falcons within a 10 day period, likely representing the bulk of the population. I urge you to check out this great blog post and unbelievable photos.

We usually see the falcons in December on their way down to southern Africa and then April on their way back. There is a window of about a week where you can see them but if you miss the large group, which can possibly be only one day, then you'll likely only see a few stragglers. Much like in India, their passage coincides with the rains which in turn bring out the termites. The Amurs take the chance to take in some much needed food. 

It's always a special event when we see them as it requires one to be in the right place at the right time. This years sighting was particularly special as they were feeding on termites after a massive storm. We got to witness them feeding on the termites for an hour or so, zipping close to the ground with their numbers filling the entire visible sky in all directions! It would be impressive to see any creature in such large numbers but the fact that they are falcons makes the situation a bit surreal and imposes a sense of awe while watching them. 

I was not always a birdwatcher but I remember seeing what I now suspect was a huge Barn Swallow migration. I was perplexed at what I saw from my seat on the bus; the sky was stained with BIRDS?! I had never seen so many in the sky in my life and it was a cool moment where I felt humbled and awed by nature. 

Now that my appreciation and knowledge of birds has increased dramatically, I would love to witness one of the great annual migration spots: Veracruz in Mexico or Tarifa in Spain. These two spots are well known for migrations in their respective hemispheres due to the natural features of the earth creating a bottle neck in these spots. Veracruz is a strategic stop over point while Tarifa is located at the southern tip of Spain, where the Strait of Gibraltar narrows, making it the closest point between Europe and Africa. Remember when I wrote that the Amur Falcon is known for the longest overwater migration? Well, most birds do anything they can to avoid crossing large bodies of water for lack of opportunities to feed or rest, hence funneling to the narrowest point. 

While there are plenty of birds that migrate in Tanzania, none excite me as much as the Amur Falcons. You never know when, or if, you will see them so whenever you get the opportunity it's a major treat.