India Bird
Races 2016 – 17
to
enjoy birds … and learn from their ways
Here’s
another rendezvous with the birds of Kerala.
The
10th Kerala Bird Race will be held on Sunday, 18th December 2016.
The Hongkong
and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) and The Yuhina Canopy, with UWM as Facilitating Partner, along with Keralabirder, Cochin
Natural History Society , Malabar Natural History Society , Nature Education Society Thrissur and WWF
Thiruvananthapuram, are organizing
this unique programme in and around three urban areas of Kerala – Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
In
an increasingly urbanizing world, with more and more people residing in urban
areas, these human-influenced landscapes have become another habitat. Birds are
often the foremost attraction for anyone interested in exploring the natural
world. The India Bird Races have been conceptualized to help look at the
avifauna (birdlife) of these urban areas and their surrounding wealth of
habitats and serve to popularize bird-watching and help lead to a better
understanding of other aspects of our biodiversity and environment.
Simple, enjoyable and interactive, these dawn to dusk events allow teams ( 3 to 4 members each) of
birding enthusiasts spend a day birding in and around a city, up to 50 km or so
around the urban perimeters. The teams record the birds seen and heard on to
the eBird platform http://ebird.org/content/india/ which
is a global database of bird sighting by Cornell University This is followed by an exciting, interactive evening get-together
where all participants, from children to rank beginners
get an opportunity to discuss their birding experiences of the day interact
with some of the finest and most experienced birders in that city, including
special invitees. With nearly 3000 people collectively partaking across
more than a dozen Indian cities between November and early-March, the India
BirdRaces are possibly the greatest birding event.
In recent years, the India Races have become a Non-Competitive event, but yet a race to
try spotting as many birds and explores every site in and around a city.
Invaluable data has been gathered and it reflects all that is good and bad
about how our urban areas are impacting the natural scheme of things.
Despite
its rules, there is a fun element to this exercise, as also the team spirit and
participation that comes into focus here. A day well spent for the cause of
birds and urban environment!
All
birding and nature enthusiasts are invited to join the Bird Race on 18th
Dec. 2016. For participation please contact:-
Kochi- Vishnupriyan
Kartha.K - 9446437410(WhatsApp)
Kozhikode- Sathayan Meppayur – 9447204182
Thiruvananthapuram- Sivakumar
A K- 9447386978
