Chandigarh Bird Race: Birders spot 254 species, golden bush robin steals the day

Armed with binoculars,15 teams of four participated in the race, which is annually organised by the Chandigarh Bird Club CBC, in the Inner State Chandigarh Region (ISRC), which includes places like Timber Trail, Morni Hills, Kansal Hills and Sukhna Lake.

Golden bush robins, chestnut-headed tesias, scaly-breasted cupwings, long-legged buzzards, Indian spotted eagles and collared scops owls were some of head turners at the 14th HSBC Chandigarh Bird Race, which was held on Monday.

This year, the birders managed to list 254 species in a 12-hour period, which is slightly more than last year’s tally of 236 species. (HT Photo)

Armed with binoculars,15 teams of four participated in the race, which is annually organised by the Chandigarh Bird Club CBC, in the Inner State Chandigarh Region (ISRC), which includes places like Timber Trail, Morni Hills, Kansal Hills and Sukhna Lake. The race goes on from dawn to dusk and the team that records the maximum number of bird species during this wins.

This year, the birders managed to list 254 species in a 12-hour period, which is slightly more than last year’s tally of 236 species. There are 436 species on the Inter State Chandigarh Region bird list. The golden bush robin was declared as the bird of the day.

Most teams managed to identify over a hundred species. Team Black Baza, comprising Gurjit Virk (team lead), Shruti, Aseem and Jaspreet, managed to identify 195 species, the highest. This year, a team of four from the Air Force station, all beginners, also participated in the race.