Guwahati: Alang, a female Amur falcon fitted with a satellite tag in Manipur in Nov last year, has returned to the northeast after wintering in southern Africa, adding an unexpected first to the species’ tracked migration story — a stopover in Bhutan.Researchers following the bird’s signal say Alang has covered more than 20,000 km in seven months. In the last 24 hours, it pushed on from the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border towards its destination in northeast Asia — the Amur Valley — taking a route that led it into Myanmar.The Bhutan halt appears to have been written by the weather.“Since rain and thunderstorm was there as Alang came closer to Assam-Bhutan border region, the route diversion of the bird further towards north is likely to be due to the prevailing weather conditions,” Dr R Suresh Kumar, senior scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India, told TOI on Wednesday.Tracking data showed Alang bypassed Manipur and crossed from the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border into Myanmar, unlike Apapang, another tagged falcon that returned to the Amur Valley through Manipur last month. “Alang crossed over from Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary to Myanmar on Tuesday and is currently in eastern Myanmar,” Kumar said.Before reaching the subcontinent, Alang had already logged one of its most punishing legs — a 59-hour non-stop flight of around 3,300 km from Somalia. In mid-May, Alang crossed from the northern Arabian Sea to the Indus River delta in Pakistan. After that, the pace changed. Kumar said the bird began stopping every night once it reached Pakistan on May 17.Tracking data shows Alang halting in Bihar for three days, departing on May 29, then flying north to Nepal and through North Bengal before reaching Bhutan. On Sunday, it traced the Himalayan foothills, passed through Manas Tiger Reserve along the Assam-Bhutan border, and reached eastern Bhutan bordering Assam, where it stopped overnight. “This was for the first time any of the tagged Amur Falcons have made a stopover in Bhutan,” Kumar confirmed.Back in the northeast, Alang paused again—this time in a forest patch near Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday night after entering the region early this week. “Alang was making flights depending on the prevailing weather conditions and is likely avoiding flying into heavy rain zones,” Kumar said.Scientists noted that after arriving in India, Alang’s progress was measured rather than swift, averaging 200 to 300 km a day. It entered Bihar in late May via central India and stopped at multiple locations each night. Alang is one of three Amur falcons — along with Apapang and Ahu—tagged by a joint team from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and the Manipur Forest department under a decade-long conservation effort. Kumar said Apapang has already reached its destination in the Manchurian region, while Ahu’s signal has gone silent.
