Twelve Delhi-NCR teams to count common bird species this Sunday

The Big Bird Day, an annual event which witnesses an assembly of bird lovers to do a head count of some common species in the region and across the country, is likely to see visitors flocking in this year as well.

If you take delight in winged wonders, then Delhi-NCR is the place to be this Sunday morning.

Several groups of birdwatchers flocked a number of locations, including Basai, Sultanpur National Park and Okhla Bird Sanctuary during the event in 2016. (HT File)

The Big Bird Day, an annual event which witnesses an assembly of bird lovers to do a head count of some common species in the region and across the country, is likely to see visitors flocking in this year as well.

As many as 12 teams from Delhi-NCR will participate with a view to getting an understanding of some common species of fowls and the parts of the region that they inhabit or are native to. Each team will comprise 15
members.

The data collated during the event will help bird enthusiasts understand the trends with regard to bird life and ecology, bird experts said.

The participants will record their count of certain common bird species for the day and upload the list to e-bird, a website where a detailed list on ecology and the evolving trend on some species of birds will be compiled by different teams through the day, Nikhil Devasar, a member of Delhi bird group, said.

During this nationwide exercise, bird watchers pan out to forests, rural, semi-urban and urban areas to record sightings. The results of the findings will be declared on Monday.

“These events give a perspective about the trends and help us explain the impact on environment because of growing urbanisation and poor air quality,” Shyam Sunder Kaushik, divisional forest officer (wildlife), Gurgoan, said.

Pankaj Gupta, a bird lover, said, “This time, I am planning to visit Mangar for this bird counting event.”

Last year, 228 species of birds were spotted during the event. However, the number was short of the 239 sighted in 2015. The inaugural edition of the event was held on February 22, 2004 and 236 species of birds were recorded across the capital.