One of the three juvenile white-bellied herons which were GPS tagged in May this year, died last week. The juvenile named Sangay suffered injuries on the left leg and wing.
Tshewang Lhendup, a researcher with the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) spotted the bird on the evening of June 29th when he visited the site upon hearing the news of the juveniles’ fledging and foraging around the Kisonachhu river basin.
The cause of the injury is not known and the researcher says the nest along Kisonachhu is one of the least disturbed areas. Fledging period is considered critical for the White-bellied heron juveniles. The bird fledges within 70 to 75 days from the day it hatches. The bird is vulnerable during this period as it can run into accidents such as electrocution while taking the first flight.
“Fortunately we don’t have much electric poles or wires around the current nesting area at Kisonachhu. After observing the situation it could be caused while trying to land it might have hit somewhere on the rock or something like that because that area is also one of the most windy places. When it takes flight from nest to a particular feeding area or site it has to fly against the wind, it could be because of natural things like that. In other ways, it could also be because it might have got stuck into the boulders and while trying to take it out that might have caused the injury,” said Tshewang Lhendup, a Research Officer for RSPN.
After sighting the injured juvenile, Tshewang called the concerned officials to rescue the bird. But it was already 4 in the evening and there was little they could do to rescue the bird across the Kisonachhu.
“As we reached the site the heron was almost at the last stage of its breath, it’s almost half dead. Although we didn’t take much medicine we tried to cover the injury with the soft cloth we took. Again to get back to the site we had to raft back and because the force of the river was strong we had to find a feasible way to cross. That took some time and when we reached the mid of the river the juvenile stopped breathing,” he added.
The RSPN surrendered the carcass to Nature Conservation Division for preparation of specimens.
Bhutan is among the few countries hosting the critically endangered White-bellied Heron. Of the 200 in the world, Bhutan is home to 25, excluding the juveniles.
RSPN has been carrying out heron conservation projects since 2003.
