Children spend their Sunday spotting birds

If it were a regular Sunday, Vatsal Shroff would have been at home studying for his final exams. But on February 26, the class 5 student from Vibgyor High School, Goregaon, was with 27 other students at Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivli, at 7am to participate in the 8th Mumbai BirdRace.

If it were a regular Sunday, Vatsal Shroff would have been at home studying for his final exams. But on February 26, the class 5 student from Vibgyor High School, Goregaon, was with 27 other students at Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivli, at 7am to participate in the 8th Mumbai BirdRace.

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“I argued with my mother to let me come for the race. I love birds, and I will continue to take part in this race over the years,” Shroff said. This was his first stint with the annual bird race.

The bird race saw an overall participation of 400, which included close to 50 children. Every team was given a list of 407 bird species found in different parts of the city. They had to tick off as many as possible. Participants started off as early as 5.30am.

Student teams were divided into two groups and assigned team captains.

Ishan Thaman, a Class 5 student from Gundecha Education Academy, said, “I am a bird lover. I read about them in encyclopedias, watch wild life channels, and have also gone on a few birding sessions to prepare for the event.”