Birder lovers and wildlife enthusiasts from Lucknow, Ayodhya, Kanpur and other parts of Uttar Pradesh had a unique opportunity to interact with eminent birdwatchers and photographers and bird data scientists at the state’s first workshop on bird watching and documentation organised by Bengaluru-based organisation ‘Bird Count India Collective’ here. This unique workshop was organised under the supervision of Dr Arpit Bansal- Advanced Laparoscopy and Cancer Surgeon and an acclaimed wildlife and bird photographer. A quiz was also organised at the workshop also attended by some students and teachers from SHUATS Naini. The Wildlife Institute of India members and volunteers also attended the workshop.
Addressing the gathering Dr Arpit Bansal said UP has some fascinating bird species and it calls for their proper documentation and conservation efforts. The eBird.org is one such prestigious online site on which the birdwatchers can upload all details of bird species they have spotted and clicked, besides track bird species in different states in India. “The eBird.org assisted me in organising my short birding trips at the right places. This in turn helped me getting the picture of 1120th bird species found in India and claiming the sixth spot for spotting/clicking over 1100 bird species in India as per eBird.org. Therefore, it is very important for all the birdwatchers to regularly document the presence of bird species on sites like eBird.org, as it will help in their conservation efforts,†he pointed out.
A scientist with Bird Count India Collective Ashwin Viswanathan said birds and biodiversity in general are declining across the world. To address this India has set ambitious goals of reversing this loss, and restoring ecosystems. As part of initiative State of India’s Birds 2020 report was the first attempt to assess the conservation status of majority of India’s bird species. It identified 101 species of high conservation concern, which require focused efforts. The report also suggests that birds that live in key habitats like open ecosystems, rivers and coasts have declines and so has the population of raptors, migratory shorebirds and ducks. Project coordinator with Bird Count India Mittal Gala said they have identified some bird species in UP that needs high conservation efforts. These species are Indian skimmers black-bellied tern, little tern to name some. If birdwatchers regularly document the details of birds they have clicked/spotted on ebird.org or other similar sites, the data analysts will get clear picture of the bird count, their population trend, nesting sites etc and they will go a long way in conservation efforts. She also appreciated the efforts being done by Dr Bansal in highlighting the birds population in Prayagraj region.
