The spoon‑billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. In 2021, a juvenile bird was fitted with a satellite tag in Russia, allowing scientists to track its long‑distance migration across the Eurasian flyway.
Earlier this year, the same tagged bird was observed on a beach in West Bengal, India, confirming its return to the Indian subcontinent after a trans‑Atlantic journey.
The sighting offers valuable data on the bird’s migration pattern and highlights the importance of international cooperation in monitoring endangered species.
Conservationists emphasize the need to protect wetland habitats along the bird’s route, calling for stricter enforcement of environmental regulations in West Bengal and beyond.
