Know your nocturnal neighbour: In a first in India, Bengal goes owl-spotting

Kolkata: Bengal is set to go owl-spotting to map its distribution and abundance across the state. The state is now home to 23 species of owls. The state-wide owl survey, a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, will give a comprehensive data on its status across Bengal. The exercise from Jan to May will be carried out both inside and outside protected areas covering all types of habitats, including forest, wetland, grasslands and even urban areas.
The study will be carried out till May as owl activity peaks during this period. It will be undertaken by Birdwatchers' Society (BWS) in collaboration with WWF-India and the state forest department. "The primary objective of this state-wide survey is to establish a baseline status, abundance, and distribution of owl species across different habitats in Bengal, supporting future conservation initiatives and long-term studies. We will also identify key nesting, roosting, and foraging sites of owls in Bengal and assess associated threats for planning effective conservation efforts," said Sujan Chatterjee, one of the founders and secretary, BWS. The work has been undertaken under WWF-India's Raptor Conservation Programme. "Owls have lived alongside people for centuries, often heard more than seen, keeping the ecosystem in balance by controlling pests and reflecting the health of our surrounding environment. Yet, we know very little about where many of the owl species persist today. Through the state-wide surveys and by working closely with the forest dept and local birders, who know these landscapes intimately, WWF-India hopes to document these nocturnal neighbours and ensure that conservation planning remain grounded in both science and lived local knowledge," said Ratul Saha, director, Raptor Conservation Programme, WWF-India."To ensure systematic coverage of Bengal's diverse landscapes, the state has been divided into survey zones and sampled using a robust grid-based framework. Each survey zone was further subdivided into 20 × 20 km grids for systematic coverage. A total of 267 grids were created, from which 100 representative grids were selected (more than 30%). Five years of historical ‘eBird' records of owl presence were overlaid on the grid framework to visualise grids with verified species," added Chatterjee. Twelve focal point counts (at least 3 km away from each other) per grid will be conducted recording owls across a mosaic of habitats. At each point, owls will be recorded visually or acoustically for 10-15 minutes. Owl vocalizations will be recorded using call playback. All surveys will be conducted during peak owl activity hours —four hours after sunset," said Kanad Baidya, founder, BWS. Among the observations to be documented are, all species with number of sightings, owl behaviour, age, sex, plumage, habitat of the sightings, critical threats or disturbances in the vicinity of owl sightings, GPS location of each sighting and weather and visibility conditions. Some of the targeted species, according to Chatterjee, are brown fish owl, oriental bay owl and Eurasian scops owl.