Mangaluru: A willow warbler recorded at Kenjar grasslands near Mangaluru is believed to be Karnataka’s first sighting and the species’ only fifth confirmed record in India.Birder Arnold M Goveas recorded the bird near the proposed Coast Guard Academy in Kenjar. The sighting was also witnessed by birder and businessman K Vivek R Nayak, who said the identification was subsequently confirmed by naturalist and e-bird representative Ashwin Viswanathan later confirmed the identification through the Ask ID For Indian Birds group.“The earlier records of the willow warbler in India include two from Kerala and one each from Tamil Nadu and Leh & Ladakh. This makes the Mangaluru sighting the first definitive record for Karnataka,” Nayak said.The willow warbler is a small leaf warbler that breeds across northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic region, from Ireland to eastern Siberia’s Anadyr River basin. Almost its entire population migrates to Sub-Saharan Africa for winter, Nayak said.Nayak said birders suspect changing weather patterns, possibly linked to El Nino, may have pushed some migratory birds that usually visit Gujarat and northern India further south. He stressed that scientific studies were needed to establish any link.The sighting has drawn birdwatchers to Kenjar grasslands. The bird was reportedly seen over the next two days, Nayak added.Recently, Nayak and fellow birder and businessman Abhay Yellore recorded a black-breasted weaver at Jokatte near Mangaluru, the first record of the species in Dakshina Kannada.
