‘Pakshi Saptah’ kickstarts today

Nagpur: Weeklong birding activities will be launched simultaneously in Maharashtra on the occasion of ‘Pakshi Saptha’ (Bird Week) from November 5 to 12.

In 2017, Maharashtra Pakshi Mitra (MPM), one of the largest birding communities in India, organized a week-long birding event ‘Pakshi Saptah’ to commemorate the birth anniversaries of ornithologists Maruti Chitampalli (November 5, 1932) and late Dr Salim Ali (November 12, 1896).

“The idea of this event was to bring birdwatchers, and nature enthusiasts from all walks of life together to celebrate the joy of birds. Thanks to the efforts of MPM, the Maharashtra government in 2020 declared ‘Pakshi Saptah’ would be celebrated as a state birding event every year from November 5-12,” said Jayant Wadatkar, ex-member of the state biodiversity board.

MPM has appealed to individuals and various NGOs to celebrate the week by conducting a public birding event, talking about birds at a school or college or eco clubs, and participating in the Salim Ali Bird Count, a nationwide event.

The MPM has also issued guidelines for those interested in documenting birds of Maharashtra during the week. The guidelines have been uploaded on eBird-India.org/India.

Honorary wildlife warden Avinash Londhe said bird-watching events will be held at Ambazari Biodiversity Park, Hingna MIDC, at 7am on November 6. The programme has been organized by Transit Treatment Centre (TTC), Heritage Conservation Society (HCS), and Birds of Vidarbha. However, the week will be formally opened by HoFF YLP Rao at Ramtek. PCCF (budget) Pradeep Kumar will be present.

Wadatkar has said that one can take up bird watching inside a residential society or campus too. But it will be more productive early in the morning, with birds generally becoming quiet and inactive during the middle of the day. You could also upload as many counts as you can from a single site or from different sites.