BNHS conducted a nationwide bird counting programme, coming up with an aggregated list of bird sightings and observations
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) recently conducted the Salim Ali Bird Count in collaboration with Bird Count India; the event turned out to be a huge success. The initiative has been re-launched by BNHS to commemorate the birth anniversary of the birdman of India, Late Dr. Salim Ali.
Creating ambassadors for birds
This pan-India initiative saw participation of 280 bird enthusiasts from 22 states collecting data about birds in their respective neighbourhoods. A total of 15,638 observations were recorded by bird lovers and laypeople; these observations included 514 species and were clubbed together from 549 lists.
Dr. Deepak Apte, Director, BNHS, said, “The Salim Ali Bird Count is an initiative connecting every common man walking on the street with the world of birds. This presents an opportunity to not only involve common people in birdwatching activities, but also make them ambassadors for the same. We are very happy to revive the Salim Ali Bird Count and aim to scale it up further on the pan-India level through our existing network.”
Rare finds
Bird enthusiasts spent around 805 hours watching birds to come up with a list that had interesting observations. Out of the 514 species of birds spotted during the bird count, 30 species were from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Birds 2015. The White-rumped Vulture was the only bird spotted from the ‘Critically Endangered’ category. Birds from the ‘Endangered’ category were also spotted such as the Black-bellied Tern, Egyptian Vulture, Great Knot and Steppe Eagle.
Of the many states that participated, Maharashtra was ranked first with a total of 123 lists, followed by Kerala with 59 lists and Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with 40 lists each. Dr. Raju Kasambe, IBA Programme Manager, BNHS-India, said, “Indian ornithology needs help of each and every bird watcher based in the remotest locations of the country. If everyone contributes their observations on citizen science forums like eBird, in the coming years, we will have a good understanding about the temporal and spatial distribution of birds found in India. Slowly, we will get an idea of the impact that climate change and other factors have on the bird population in India. So, we request every bird enthusiast to encourage bird watching amongst the general public and share data for the benefit of science.”
This count will be organised every year on the Sunday succeeding September 12 in order to encourage birdwatching and spread awareness.
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