Migration of Tringa Birds to Ketapang

KETAPANG - Tringa brevipe birds of Siberia, Northern Asia, from March to April migrated to Air Mati Beach, Muara Pawan district, Ketapang district for search of food in the winter, an environmental activist said here Monday.

The birds which were looking for food in the muddy shore are 25 centimeters long, a member of Bird Observers Association (bird watching) of Ketapang bird’s friends, Abdurachman Alkadri noted.

"The birds are one of the migrant birds from other countries," Abdurachman said.

They are also regular visitors of Air Mati Beach. In March and April they can still be found in Air Mati, Sungai Pawan village. According to him, the bird watchers association, managed to capture the activity of the birds including while they were looking for food.

"These birds migrate from their original place to the continent with a tropical climate or a tropical country to avoid the winter, " Abdurachman explained.

Tringa brepive breed in Siberia and migrate to the south in winter to Australia and New Zealand as well as to Indonesia, including Air Mati beach in Sungai Awan village.

Meanwhile, the head of Ketapang’s Tourism Culture Youth and Sports office, Yudo Sudarto said that although the water of Ketapang beach is not clean, with a lot of mud, but they offered many natural food for the birds, so they feel at home there.

"In addition, muddy beaches provide a good habitat for mangrove forests with its ecosystem," Abdurachman said.

Several species of birds that stop in the region are migrant birds such as Derek Besar (Pluvialis squatarola), Trinil Berdaran (Tringa cinereus), Gajahan Pengala (Numenius phaeopus), Biru Laut Ekor Blorok (Limosa lapponica), Dara Laut (Sterna sp), Gajahan Besar (Numenius arquata), Trinil Ekor Kelabu (Tringa brevipes) and Trinil Kaki Merah (Tringa totanus). In addition, there are also various types of Stork Egreta such as Ardea purpurea, Bubulcus ibis, Egretta sacra, Egretta alba and others.

Ketapang is the largest district in West Kalimantan with a have coastline from south to north. Part of the beach which is the estuary of a river, are marshes stretching from the Teluk Batang, Simpang Hilir, Sukadana, Matan Hilir Utara, Matan Hilir Selatan, Kendawangan and Maya Karimata island subdistrict.

source : kompas.com