Go on birdwatching walks this Valentine’s weekend

By Anuksha Dey

Bird Count India is organising a weekend full of birding adventures on February 13 and 14. Birdwatching walks are organised across lakes in Bengaluru as part of the global Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) 2021. The walks are open to all and free for participants.

This is a great time of the year to see migratory waterbirds. For example, Goose and Ducks like Greylag Goose, Bar-headed Goose. Northern Shoveler, and Common Pochard start arriving in India during the winter months. 

February 13

This Saturday, a birding walk is organised at Yelahanka lake. The group will meet at 6:30 am near the backgate of Yelahanka Kere. Another walk will be conducted the same day at Kaikondrahalli lake. The walk will start near the HDFC building. The meeting time for this walk is 4:30 pm.

February 14

This Sunday, a walk will be conducted at Hoskote Kere at 6:30 am. The meeting point for this walk is near the Gangamma Temple on NagondanaHalli Road, in Channasandra.  A walk will also be conducted at Saul Kere at 8:00am the same day. The meeting point for the Saul Kere walk is behind the Eco World. 

All participants are advised to meet 5 minutes before the time mentioned. They are also requested to wear dull, full-sleeved clothes with long pants and closed footwear. Masks are compulsory at the event. 

The Great Back Yard Bird Count

The walks are part of The Great Back Yard Bird Count (GBBC) which takes place annually in February around the world. This year, the GBBC is being celebrated between 12th and 15th February. The Bird Count is a celebration of the avian biodiversity. In India, birders organise activities such as birdwatching walks, talks, presentations, to engage with people from all walks of life to introduce  new people to birdwatching. 

“The idea of connecting with nature, during those 15 minutes of watching birds, had great appeal and having started participating in the GBBC and also in the Campus Count, I find myself well and truly hooked,” says Kalpana Jayaraman, an assistant professor and department head of zoology at Stella Maris College (Autonomous) in Chennai.

The annual snapshots received during the event are used for research as they answer a variety of essential questions about the distribution of birds across the country. Besides, they indicate how birds are affected by weather and habitat changes. This kind of survey also gives an idea of the trends in bird population and distribution patterns over the years. 

“During India’s first GBBC in 2013, around 200 birders uploaded 438 checklists. Since then, there is a tremendous increase in participation every year,” says Mittal Gala from Bird Count India. “In 2020, GBBC saw around 2,018 birders from 309 districts in India, who uploaded 24,966 checklists.”

Want to organise your own event?

If you want to organise your own event or just record the kind of birds visiting your backyard, balcony or neighbourhood park, you could do that too. Just go through the material on how this is done here, and you are good to go and register your bird walk with the organisers.