top of page

By:

Vinod Chavan

30 September 2025 at 3:04:23 pm

Birder Cop finds an Australian tagged bird

Latur: G. Thikanna, serving in the Andaman Police Department as an Assistant Sub-Inspector in Communications was posted on one of the most remote and lesser-inhabited islands in the world to complete a one-month tenure. This island lies about 140 nautical miles away from the capital city, far from his family and loved ones in Port Blair. Life there is challenging, with no mobile network and no regular power supply. The only source of electricity is a portable generator that runs for about...

Birder Cop finds an Australian tagged bird

Latur: G. Thikanna, serving in the Andaman Police Department as an Assistant Sub-Inspector in Communications was posted on one of the most remote and lesser-inhabited islands in the world to complete a one-month tenure. This island lies about 140 nautical miles away from the capital city, far from his family and loved ones in Port Blair. Life there is challenging, with no mobile network and no regular power supply. The only source of electricity is a portable generator that runs for about three hours a day just enough to charge communication devices and essential equipment. This was his second visit to the island in 2025. On the morning of June 16, 2025, during a routine inspection of the shoreline, he noticed a small bird moving along with the tidal waves. What caught his attention, however, was that the bird was having some colour tags on it legs. The photographs revealed that the bird had three tags: a red flag leg above the knee and a yellow tag under the knee on it right leg. The left leg had a metal ring. The red flag had a code which read DYM. In March 2026, Dr. Raju Kasambe, ornithologist and former Assistant Director at Bombay Natural History Society, and founder of Mumbai Bird Katta, visited South Andaman for a birding trip by his venture. Thikanna shared his observation and photographs with him. Dr. Kasambe took great interest and asked Thikanna to send the photographs. He identified the bird as Sanderling (Calidris alba), which breeds in the extreme northern parts of Asia, Europe and North America. After studying the shorebird Colour Marking Protocol for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) Dr. Kasambe realized that the bird was tagged in South Australia. He informed the EEAF team and Ms. Katherine Leung reverted with the information about the tagging of this tiny migratory wader, which weighs just 40-100gramms. The wader was tagged on 13 April 2025 by Ms. Maureen Christie at the Danger Pt, Brown Bay, near Port Macdonnell, in South Australia. That means the wader had reached Narcondam Island after two months and three days on its return journey back the its breeding grounds in extreme northern parts of Asia. The straight-line distance the bird had flown was an amazing 7472km and it hadn’t yet reached its final destination – the breeding grounds. This is first record of resighting of any tagged bird on the Narcondam Island, as the island remains mostly inaccessible to bird watchers. Interesting, the Island is home to the endemic Narcondam Hornbill, a species which is not found anywhere in the world. Mr. G. Thikanna is associated with the Andaman avians Club which conducted bird watching and towards creating awareness about birds in the Andaman Island. Other members of the club have congratulated him on the great find in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Ready to 'wrap' tensions if India de-escalates: Asif

  • PTI
  • May 7, 2025
  • 2 min read

By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad: Pakistan is ready to "wrap up" tensions with India, if New Delhi de-escalates the situation, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Wednesday.


His remarks came hours after India carried out a military strike on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.


Asif was reported as saying by Bloomberg Television that Pakistan will only respond if attacked.


"We have been saying all along in the last fortnight that we'll never initiate anything hostile towards India. But if we're attacked, we'll respond. If India backs down, we will definitely wrap up this tension," he said.


Regarding the possibility of talks, the minister said he was not aware of any such potential engagements.


Indian Charge d'Affaires summoned

Pakistan on Wednesday summoned the Indian Chargé d'Affaires and lodged a strong protest against the Indian strikes.


“The Indian Chargé d'Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today to receive Pakistan's strong protest over the unprovoked Indian strikes” at multiple locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, Foreign Office said in a statement.


It said that these strikes resulted in the deaths and injuries of several civilians, including women and children.


“It was conveyed that India's blatant act of aggression constitutes a clear violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. Such actions are in contravention of the UN Charter, international law, and established norms governing inter-state relations,” FO said.


Pakistan also firmly rejected what it called “India's baseless justifications for its hostile conduct.”


Pakistan closes airspace

Pakistan on Wednesday announced a 48-hour closure of its airspace for all air traffic after India carried out a military strike on terror targets in Pakistan and PoK.


Shortly after the military strike by India, Pakistani aviation authorities closed the airspace over Islamabad and Lahore and diverted flights to Karachi. Later, the entire airspace was closed for 48 hours as a precautionary measure.

However, aviation authorities reopened the airspace after an eight-hour closure.


International and domestic flights resumed this morning, with the majority of them departing from the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi or Lahore.


We will respond with full force. We will pay off this debt in the manner such debt is paid. All places are open for the international media to verify if they targeted terrorists' camps or civilians.

Khawaja Asif, Defence Minister, Pakistan

Comments

bottom of page