Common Bird Monitoring Programme 2015-Announcement

Dear all,

 Kerala Common Bird Monitoring Program is back this year.

Dates: 13-16 February 2015
Who can participate ?  Any bird enthusiast who will be in Kerala during these dates.

Where to participate ? Anywhere in Kerala - it could be at your home, school, college or work place.

How to participate ?  Watch birds for atleast for 15 minutes and note down all the species seen and upload it in www.ebird.org

Whom to ask for more information ? Respective district coordinators. Please see below link.

More Details for Participating:  Please visit here

http://www.birdcount.in/events/kerala-cbmp/

A Presentation on how to use eBird
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UCSaP-GlyOPW5WdEiluZvZ5dh9mJrU7QVdM3eOrnfwo/edit#slide=id.p12

Warm Regards,

Vishnu

Wetland Bird Count (AWC)- 2015

 Cochin Natural History Society and Kerala Forest Department (Social Forestry Division) are conducting the Wetland Bird Count-2015 at the major wetlands of Ernakulum such as Kadamakkudy and Devaswom Padam (Varapuzha), Kandakkadavu, Kalathara and Kuthirakoor Kari (Thoppumpady) this weekend. The Wetland Bird Count is being conducted as part of the Asian Waterfowl Census. The census has three major objectives:-
 to obtain information on an annual basis of water bird populations at wetlands in the region during the non-breeding period of most species (January), as a basis for evaluation of sites and monitoring of populations;
 to monitor on an annual basis the status and condition of wetlands; and
 to encourage greater interest in water birds and wetlands amongst people, and 
thereby promote the conservation of wetlands and water birds in the region.

The AWC is an annual event that takes place once a year, during the second and third week of January. The census was initiated in 1987 in the Indian subcontinent, and has grown rapidly to cover most countries of South Asia, East Asia, South East Asia and Pacific, as well as Russia Far East.
Waterbirds have been defined as “species of bird that are ecologically dependent on wetlands”. This is the definition used by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. For the purposes of the International Waterbird Census, all species in the following families are considered by Wetlands International to be waterbirds: Podicipedidae (Grebes), Pelecanidae (Pelicans), Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants), Anhingidae (Darters), Ardeidae (Herons) Ciconiidae (Storks), Threskiornithidae (Ibises and Spoonbills), Phoenicopteridae (Flamingos), Anatidae (Ducks, Geese and Swans), Gruidae (Cranes), Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules and Coots), Jacanidae (Jacanas), Rostratulidae (Painted Snipes), Dromadidae (Crab Plover), Haematopodidae (Oystercatchers), Ibidorhynchidae (Ibisbill), Recurvirostridae (Stilts and Avocets), Burhinidae (Thick-knees), Glareolidae (Coursers and Pratincoles), Charadriidae (Plovers), Scolopacidae (Sandpipers,Snipes and Phalaropes), Laridae (Gulls), Sternidae (Terns) and Rynchopidae (Skimmers).

Waterbirds counted during the census in India include all species of grebes, cormorants, pelicans, herons, egrets, storks, ibises, spoonbills, flamingoes, ducks, geese, swans, cranes, rails, jacanas, shorebirds (waders), gulls, terns, and raptors (birds of prey) normally associated with wetlands. Count data is entered onto standardized count forms.

This is one of the largest scientific data gathering programmes utilizing Citizen Volunteers. The census takes place every year in over 100 countries with the involvement of around 15,000 counters, most of whom are volunteers. More than half the effort is concentrated in Europe, but involvement in other parts of the world has increased markedly since 1990. Between 30 million and 40 million waterbirds are counted each year around the world, and details of the counts and the sites where they take place are held on the newly upgraded, state-of-the-art IWC database. The IWC is thus by far the most globally extensive and one of the longest running biodiversity monitoring programme in the world.

The rationale behind waterbird monitoring was summarized eloquently by Matthews (1967) at the time when international coordination of waterbird counting was beginning: “...while man is recklessly unleashing new insults on his environment, background monitoring of populations is essential to detect the threats as they develop and before they become catastrophes apparent to all”.

Waterbirds are well-known indicators of the quality of certain types of wetlands. A powerful tool which makes use of this characteristic is the so-called 1% criterion, whereby any site which regularly holds 1% or more of a waterbird population qualifies as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The 1% criterion has been adopted by the European Union to identify Special Protection Areas (SPAs) under the Birds Directive. It is also used by Birdlife International in the identification of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in wetlands throughout the world. 

Standardized monitoring of Arctic breeding species and species dependent on inter-tidal habitats is even more important in the light of human induced climate change (Houghton et al. 2001). Global warming is expected to have especially pronounced effects on tundra and other Arctic environments, and, through sea level rise, on intertidal habitats (Boyd & Madsen 1997). Waterbird monitoring will play a significant future role in monitoring the effects of these changes on the millions of waterbirds which depend upon these habitats.

Cochin Natural History Society has been coordinating this event since 2011.

For participation in the event in Ernakulam please register by calling/sending SMS at 9446437410. Or mail to cochinnaturalhistorysociety@gmail.com


Schedule:
24th January 2015, Saturday Morning
Kalathara, Kandakkadavu and Kuthirakkoor Kari Wetlands (Thoppumpady)

25th January 2015, Sunday Morning 
Kadamakkudy and Devaswom Padam Wetlands (Varapuzha)



Sd/-
Vishnupriyan Kartha
Secretary 

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Training for bird watchers

Special Correspondent

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Bird watchers will be trained to record sightings of wetland and common birds found in Kochi.— File photo

 Interested in honing your bird-watching skills and adding a scientific touch to your hobby of observing the winged species?

The Kerala Forest Department and the Cochin Natural History Society (CNHS) are jointly offering a training programme for the bird enthusiasts for correctly identifying in wetland and common birds seen in Kerala. The participants will be trained in scientifically identifying the birds and to monitor them on a regular basis. They will also be encouraged to record the bird sightings in a scientific manner, said the organisers.

The programme comes as part of the Green Partnership programme of Social Forestry Division of Kerala Forest Department. The data would go a long way in involving people to gather scientific data on birds, they said.

The training programme will be held at Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary on January 3 at 10 a.m. For more details, contact 9446437410.

Under the Green Partnership Programme, the Forest department and the NGOs had been carrying out Asian Waterbird Count, Common Bird Monitoring Programme, pelagic bird surveys and heronry surveys. The bird data generated from the water bird counting is used to monitor the health of wetlands. The Society had been monitoring the wetlands of Ernakulam district for the last four years. The 2014 Common Bird Monitoring Programme succeeded in recording 280 bird species, the organisers said.

Training on CBMP ,AWC and eBird

Dear Friends,

We are conducting a training session on Bird Watching  with the help of Kerala Forest Department under Green Partnership Programme.:

Date and time  :10am on Saturday, 3rd January 2015.

Venue:               Mangalavanam Sanctuary,behind Highcourt of Kerala.

Topics:              Wetlands Bird Monitoring and Identification:

                           Common Birds of Kerala- CBMP

                           Introduction  to eBird.

For participation, please mail us at  cochinnaturalhistorysociety@gmail.com or contact me .

Warm Regards Happy Birding,

Vishnu

9446437410

Eat Pokkali Rice to Conserve Waterbirds, Say Birders

Click Here to go to the Report

Eat pokkali rice to conserve water birds, say birders

K.S. SUDHI ,The Hindu

The Cochin Natural History Society, an NGO, has launched a campaign asking the bird enthusiasts to buy pokkali rice from the farmers to support the farming and thereby conserving wetlands, the habitat of wetland birds. Eat pokkali rice to save wetland bird habitats, exhort birders of Kochi.

The Cochin Natural History Society (CNHS), an NGO dedicated for conservation of birds, has launched a campaign asking the bird enthusiasts to buy pokkali rice from the farmers of Varapuzha area to support the farming and thereby conserving wetlands, the habitat of wetland birds.

Pokkali farming is facing crisis in the district with drastic reduction in the extent of farmland. The farming activity itself had become uneconomic forcing the farmers to abandon it, said Vishnupriyan Kartha, secretary of the society.

The CNHS is focusing its attention on Devaswom Padam in Varapuzha, which is one of the favourite wetland birding sites in the district. The presence of around 50 bird species draws birders and nature enthusiasts to this site. The destruction of wetlands will naturally lead to loss of habitat of avian fauna. Sustainable farming is the only way to protect the birds. Hence the campaign, Mr. Kartha said.

The bird species present in the wetland include Little Cormorant, Oriental Darter, Indian Pond Heron, Purple Heron, Grey Heron and Little Egret. Asian Openbill, Lesser Whistling Duck, White-breasted water hen, Purple Swamp hen, Bronze winged Jacana and Pacific Golden Plover are also found here.

Calling the attention of birders who have been carrying out “birding and photography at Kadamakudi and Devaswom Padam regularly,” a communication from the CNHS urged them to buy pokkali rice to revive the farming. A group of social activists are supporting the farmers by returning the profit from selling pokkali rice procured from them, he said.

Pokkali paddy farmed by the local farmers is converted into rice at a threshing unit and the rice is sold at Rs. 60 a kg. The profit is returned to the farmers as an incentive for engaging in pokkali farming, said Jesudas Varapuzha, one of the activists.

Last year, One quintal rice was thus sold and profit shared among the farmers. There was good demand for pokkali rice and the transportation of rice to the buyers was one hassle faced in its marketing, he said.

The society had been covering the wetlands since 2011 during the Asian water bird census. When the birders assemble here for the next census in January, the members will be encouraged to buy the rice from the farmers.

High Court upholds fragile land Act

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Kerala Bird Race 2014- A Report

Dear all,

It was yet another day for celebrating the joy of birding by birding enthusiasts.The eighth edition of Kerala Bird Race was held with gusto and enthusiasm  yesterday . The Bird Race is conducted in Kerala to commensurate with the birthday of Dr. S`alim Ali in three cities namely Kochi,Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram In the central region, around 100 participants in 22 teams from Ernakulam, Thrissur,Kottayam and Alleppey  participated  in the programme. The valedictory function was held at Airport Abad, Nedumbassery.

The Chief Guest was  Hon, Justice K. Sukumaran, former Justice of Kerala High court.He shared his many experiences in dealing with environmental issues and the Silent Valley struggle.It was a speech sprinkled with humor and wit.In the function participants shared the day`s joys and misses and even a team`s tryst with wild elephants.

Now coming to the main part, the main sightings  from central.region were  an Amur Falcon from Nedumbassey by Dr.Dilip K G , our President, Asian Fairy Bluebird and Velvet Fronted Nuthatch from KAU Campus by students of Forestry College, around 1500 Glossy Ibis from Kole  wetlands, and a Mountain Hawk Eagle from Idamalayar area by Ginu George,Jai P Jacob,Cinoby J Kanat and Arun, members of CNHS.

All participants were  encouraged to submit their observations to eBird platform.A presentation on Onam Bird Count Results and eBird introduction was also given.

This year there were many  new birding enthusiasts  participating r, including from Thiruvananthapurm,Idukki and Palakkad. The function ended with a Banquet, and participants were seen lingering long after, sharing their days memories with each other....

Vishnu