Bengaluru techie digitises 100-year data on bird tagging

Bridging technology and conservation, a Bengaluru-based tech professional has digitised nearly century-old records of bird-ringing data maintained by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). His efforts of transforming handwritten field notes of around 450 species into a digital database will help researchers and policy makers in preparing a long-term policy.

Deepak Rajanna, in collaboration with BNHS, has digitised data on over 7.5 lakh individual birds collected since 1927 over the past six months. This is expected to benefit future studies — particularly on migratory birds — and assist in formulating national and global long-term conservation policies and action plans.

For the past 98 years, BNHS has been ring-tagging various bird species across India. The organisation also coordinates with agencies in other countries that tag birds. However, much of this data was maintained in pen-and-paper format, making it vulnerable to damage or loss. With digitisation, experts say the data will significantly strengthen long-term conservation efforts.

Rajanna, a wildlife enthusiast who has applied his expertise in technology to the project, has so far digitised over 25,000 sheets of BNHS records containing information on more than 3.5 lakh ringed birds. The records include details such as the date the birds were tagged, their physical parameters (weight, bill length, tail length, tarsus length, wingspan), the location where they were tagged, migratory routes, and the places where they were last sighted.

“During my initial exploration with BNHS, I realised that they had vast amounts of data on tagged birds in physical sheets stretching back to nearly hundred years. Converting that data into digitised form and sharing the resulting insights with other states, countries, and organisations would help multiple agencies and nations protect the birds and their habitat. So, under the guidance of BNHS, I, along with volunteers, interns, researchers and other contributors began using technology and algorithms to develop a solution: Avifauna,” says Rajanna.

P Sathiyaselvam, deputy director and head of the Wetlands and Flyways Programme at BNHS, says, “BNHS has been ringing birds since 1927. Bird ringing and other tagging techniques are essential to protecting birds throughout their migratory routes. If a bird is protected in one place but faces threats along its route, then all conservation efforts fail.”

He says data collected over the last century paints a gloomy picture, as several avian habitats— including water bodies, grasslands and forest patches — have been degraded due to various reasons (both natural and man-made).

“By presenting digitised data that can be shared globally, we can urge multinational bodies to formulate policies that ensure safe passage along the flyways of these birds,” he adds.

Sathiyaselvam says the long-term data is also helping scientists understand the impact of climate change on birds and their habitats, identify which populations of species use the three flyways in India, and, most importantly, study the spread of zoonotic diseases among avian species.

While the digital data collected through the ‘Avifauna’ platform is currently limited to academic and research purposes, Rajanna is also developing a mobile application through which citizen scientists can contribute information.

For researchers like Karthik N J, a student at Kuvempu University in Shivamogga studying river terns on islands in the Bhadra river, Rajanna’s platform is helping streamline scientific data collection.

“I have tagged over a thousand river terns. Birdwatchers across the world who sight these birds report their observations. Avifauna is helping me analyse the data easily and scientifically,” he says.