Manipal bird day: 130 species of birds recorded

Udupi: About 90-100 birders recorded 130 species across 17 trails on eBird, a citizen science platform for documenting birds, as part of the Manipal Bird Day, celebrated for the 16th consecutive year, on Sunday.Organised by Manipal Birding and Conservation Trust, Manipal, in association with One Nature Student Animal Welfare Club, department of student affairs, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, and centre for wilderness medicine and Kasturba Medical College, MAHE, Manipal, the event began early, with participants exploring different trails across Manipal, led by experienced members of the Manipal Birder's Club. For the inexperienced, the walk was an introduction to birding, and for the experienced, it offered encounters with Manipal's rich bird diversity, said Tejasvi S Acharya, trustee, Manipal Birding and Conservation Trust.
The Blyth's swift, and other species such as the Malabar pied hornbills, Malabar grey hornbills, crested goshawk, crested serpent eagle, and many other endemic species to the Western Ghats were spotted. The event also included talks and sessions aimed at exploring the ecosystem that the birds are a part of.Prajwal M Kinnigoli, a beekeeper from Mangalore, spoke about the importance of bees in his talk, ‘Be the Change to Save Bees'. Arathi Ashok, president, Aranya Parisara Mathu Havamana Badalavane Sangha, a civil society dedicated to protecting the environment, spoke about environmental policies, their implementation, and social forestry.The session concluded with organisers speaking about their work, a quiz, and the declaration of results.The event was an important documentation, a snapshot of the bird diversity on a regular winter morning. The numbers may be sobering, but they should be taken as encouragement to preserve the bird habitat. Habitat loss is an ongoing issue we face evert year, Tejasvi said.