Big Bird Day 2023 count likely to be higher than last year, say birders

While 214 species were recorded in last year’s count on February 22, 244 species were recorded in 2021’s count. In 2020, 253 species were recorded, 247 species in 2019 and 237 in 2018

Hundreds of bird-watchers set out across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Sunday morning as part of the Big Bird Day (BBD) count of 2023, equipped with notebooks, binoculars and cameras to identify and record resident and migratory birds.

A Black-rumped flameback at Yamuna Biodiversity Park on Sunday. (HT Photo)

The results of the count – an annual bird-spotting event – are expected to be out on Wednesday. Last year, the count was 214 different species.

Birders said this year, a large diversity of bird species was recorded across NCR. “We are seeing good numbers at most wetlands, both in terms of the density and the species variation. The overall count should likely be higher than last year, when we did not see quite a few species,” said Nikhil Devasar, a birder and one of the organisers of the BBD.

“At Dhanauri, we spotted birds like the smoky warbler, mallard, ruddy-breasted crake and the water rail, while a Brooks’s leaf warbler was sighted at Sultanpur. The results of the count are slowly being uploaded on an e-bird portal and will be analysed over the next two to three days.”

Kanwar B Singh, a veteran birder who covered the area in and around Sultanpur, said his team spotted several raptors (birds of prey), in addition to the Brooks’s leaf warbler. “These included osprey, white-tailed eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, booted eagle, steppe eagle, imperial eagle, the greater spotted eagle and marsh harrier. It was a great sight to see so many raptors together. We also sighted the orange-headed thrush, which is another uncommon winter visitor to our region,” Singh said.

Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist-in-charge at Yamuna biodiversity park, “We saw the black-rumped flameback and the Pallas’s gull. At Tilpath Valley biodiversity park, we saw the white-capped bunting and at Tughlaqabad biodiversity park, the taiga flycatcher was a noteworthy sighting. We also recorded a booted eagle and the grey-headed canary-flycatcher at Kamla Nehru biodiversity park.”