Eurasian coots flock in large numbers at Achankulam near Coimbatore

Eurasian coots (Fulica atra), a common wetland bird, were seen in unusually large numbers at Achankulam, near Coimbatore city, on Sunday (October 4, 2026).

More than 20 birders from the Coimbatore Nature Society (CNS), who went to the wetland for a routine birding on Sunday morning, witnessed the mass gathering, which as per their estimate could be between 1,000 and 2,000 birds.

The birding started at 7 a.m., with spotting of winter visitors and a healthy population of Indian Spot-billed ducks. As the team scanned the north-eastern and northern expanses of the vast tank, birders were stunned to find that nearly half of the entire wetland was blanketed by a dense floating flock of coots, a species that is typically spotted here only in single digits or small groups of a few dozen.

While the Eurasian coot maintains a year-round residential breeding population in south India, experienced birders from CNS feel that a spike of this magnitude can indicate early arrival of migratory flocks travelling from the Himalayas or the broader Palearctic region.

According to a statement from CNS, historical data and online citizen-science databases show a clear pattern of increased presence of Eurasian coots in Tamil Nadu during September and October as freezing northern temperatures force these birds to move south. This early October influx at Achankulam highlights the wetland’s vital role as a primary staging ground and refuge for long-distance winter migrants entering the region, it said.

“In our nearly 15 years of continuous documentation and observation across Coimbatore’s wetlands, we have rarely seen such an explosive, concentrated population of Eurasian coots this early in the season,” said a CNS representative.

The society emphasised that this unusual gathering warrants deeper ecological probing to understand changing migratory timelines and local habitat health. Other birds that were spotted by CNS birders at Achankulam on Sunday included Spot-billed pelican, Painted stork, Asian openbill, Garganey, Great cormorant, Blue-tailed bee-eater, Barn swallow and various sandpipers.