The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Let birds of a feather flock together

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Saturday, Feb 02, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Let birds of a feather flock together

P. Oppili

Madras Naturalists’ Society, HSBC Bank to organise bird race on Sunday

— FILE PHOTO

On the lookouT: Madras Naturalists’ Society members try to spot their feathered friends near Chembarambakkam lake.

CHENNAI: Bird watchers, pack your notebooks, a pen, camera with zoom lens, binoculars besides Salim Ali’s book on Indian Birds this Sunday.

The Madras Naturalists’ Society, a Chennai-based nature conservation group, along with HSBC Bank, is organising a day-long bird race in Chennai.

The race is a dawn-to-dusk event, where a large gathering of experienced and budding birdwatchers spend an entire day spotting and identifying birds in and around Chennai.

Some of the places one can visit to record the birds would be Adyar Estuary, Guindy National Park, Pallikaranai marsh, Nanmangalam Reserved Forests, Vedanthangal and Chembarambakkam.

K.V. Sudhakar of the society said the race was organised in an attempt to record as many species of birds as possible around Chennai. The participants would also learn about the finer points of bird watching from experts.

Later, all teams would share their experiences over dinner.

First time in Chennai

The India Bird Races came into existence four years ago in Mumbai. The idea was conceived by Mumbai-based naturalist-writer and educator Sunjoy Monga. This is the first time a bird race is being organised in Chennai, Mr. Sudhakar said.

The HSBC India Bird Race had been planned as a fun event. It is also aimed at creating awareness among people of the bird life surrounding the city and its suburbs. The programme will also mobilise support for the conservation of nature and environment.

Registration is free. For details, write to mns_members@yahoo.co.in or birdrace@blackbuck.org.in . For more details on HSBC India Chennai Bird Race, visit www.blackbuck.org.in or call 9381017635 or 9840090875.