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Photo: K. Ananthan

Bird-consciousBirdwatchers and nature lovers are on the rise

There is an excited chirrup in the air amongst bird watchers across Kerala as they gear up to celebrate the birthday of the bird man of India, Dr. Salim Ali, on November 11. His birthday falls on November 12. And they are to celebrate the winged beauties in a unique maiden event, the Bird Race. A dawn-to-dusk race will have the bird watchers trying to spot the maximum number of birds in areas chosen by team leaders. The team with the largest species list will be the winners and with a prize for spotting a rare species too! The event is organised by Kerala Birder, an internet group of passionate bird-watchers, along with HSBC. A State event, it will be held in three cities of Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, each having a hundred participants in 25 teams of four.

Sunjoy Monga, naturalist, photographer and writer who’s coordinating the Race says, “This is happening in Kerala for the first time and as a State event. Kerala is a bird rich part of India and has very good bio-diversity.”

“One of the objects of the present activity is to train as many bird enthusiasts as possible in bird watching. We are using bird watching as a tool for the conservation of bio-diversity. Birds are very good indicators of the health of an eco system and they are cheerful, happy and wonderful creatures,” says P.O. Nameer, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Wildlife Sciences of Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur.

Adds naturalist Suresh Elamon, “birds are the best ‘early warning system’ around us and we should learn to observe them and learn from them.”

“Bird watching makes us observant. To be able to keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open is difficult for many people and to have a hundred birders on a single platform is a rarity,” adds Monga. On the larger context he feels that bird watching is the stepping stone to bigger environmental issues. Another object of the event is to monitor the common bird.

“We have been doing surveys in wetlands, sanctuaries and national parks but have not focussed on common birds in and around us,” says Nameer, informing that this first of its kind event will be repeated in all 14 districts of the State if this maiden venture is successful.

For veteran birder K.V. Eldhose, there’s no better way to kick off the birding season.

“Every year there has been a steady increase in the number of birders making it to the State in search of the rare, endemic species. And an event like this will certainly give the new season a head start.” According to him this event, more than anything else, will help create awareness, especially among children, about Nature and the need to protect it.

About birds in urban areas, Eldhose says, “One major threat is habitat loss in urban areas. Any effort to make people aware of all this will be extremely helpful.”

Says S. Balakrishnan from Tripunithura who’s looking forward to the race, “Though I was interested in bird watching from my childhood it is only recently that I bought Dr. Salim Ali’s book ‘Birds of India.’ I also bought a camera and now after taking VRS from banking service I bird watch everyday.” Ask him if he can spot birds, not the common variety, in the city, and he says, “You can find birds provided you look for them.” He spotted the Blue Flycatcher recently near his house and the rare Sri Lankan Frog Mouth at Thattekad Bird sanctuary. Says Nameer about the growing interest in the hobby. “There are 600 members on the Kerala Birders mailing list. More and more people are getting interested. Last month we did an activity called Bird Migration Watch. The response was very good. What we need now is to train them in bird identification.”

Says Elamon, “When I started bird watching about thirty years ago there may not have been more than 20-30 ardent birdwatchers in the entire state, but now there are countless people, keen on this hobby.”

Ginu George, an engineer with KSIT Mission and a birder is upbeat about the coming event. “I will get a chance to meet other ornithologists from the district. People with the same interest.” And so even if the bird lovers get the warbler’s neck after the day-long Race they are game for it. For registration details, contact:

Dr. P.O.Nameer: 93885 56966 or Praveen J.: 94480 39906.

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