Sri Lanka's first tagged shorebird makes journey to Northern Russia

The Grey Plover, also known as the Black-bellied Plover due to its striking black face and belly in breeding plumage, is an unmistakable winter visitor to the coasts of Sri Lanka. One such Grey Plover is Vayu, tagged by the Central Asian Flyway-Sri Lanka Waterbird Tracking Project conducted by FOGSL-UoC in collaboration with the Research Centre for Eco-environmental Sciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Palmyrah House (Pvt) Ltd and Wetlands International.

Vayu was tagged in March 2022 by our research team led by Professor Sampath Seneviratne in Mannar. Departing Sri Lanka by May 17th, Vayu flew through inland India, making stops in Telangana, the Ganges river in Bihar, and again in West Bengal. Crossing the mighty Himalayas from Bhutan at an elevation of 15,600 ft, it then entered the Tibetan plateau where it rested for over a week. Its next leg of the journey took it over Taklamakan, the world’s second-largest shifting sand desert, which it successfully crossed in a direct flight before coming to a stop in Kazakhstan. From there, it resumed its northward flight across the West Siberian Plain. By July 13th, Vayu had completed its northward migration, traveling 9700 km through seven countries of Asia over 57 days, stopping over to refuel eight times along the way.
Read More: https://fogsl.cmb.ac.lk/2024/05/07/gps-project