Navi Mumbai: Birdwatching walk turns historic with rare albino bird sighting

The albino curlew sandpiper within a flock of redshanks and curlew sandpipers. Pic courtesy/Sachin Rane

A routine birdwatching walk turned into a rare wildlife moment on January 24 at TS Chanakya (Indian Maritime University Navi Mumbai), when a birder spotted an albino male curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) - believed to be the first recorded sighting of its kind in the area.

Naturalist and experienced birder Sachin Rane, founder of the Naturalist Foundation, told mid-day that he was guiding clients when the group first noticed redshanks and curlew sandpipers resting together. "As we moved closer to observe the flock, we briefly spotted a greater painted snipe among them, which is also the first-ever sighting of the species at TS Chanakya," said Rane.

He added that the group then crossed to the opposite side to try and photograph the painted snipe and waited for it to reappear. "After a long wait with no further sighting, we shifted our focus back to photographing the redshanks and curlew sandpipers. That's when we noticed an exceptionally rare bird, an albino curlew sandpiper, within the flock," he said.

Rane explained that while true albino curlew sandpipers are extremely rare, birders more commonly encounter leucistic individuals that appear white. "This sighting turned out to be even rarer than the painted snipe we had initially gone looking for, making it a truly memorable outing for everyone present," he added.