Bidar to host fifth Hakki Habba in January

The fifth edition of the much-awaited annual Hakki Habba, the bird festival of Karnataka, will be held in Bidar.

After a lot of deliberation, the Forest department has finalised Bidar’s territorial forest division for the festival. The idea is to showcase what the dry lands house and the rich biodiversity they store, which need protection.

Forest Minister R Shankar told DH that the festival would be held by January-end, but the dates have not yet been finalised. He said this was a unique opportunity for people to see different locations and explore them. The date would be finalised at the next meeting with officials.

The forest officials said Bidar was chosen to break the myth that Bidar and other parts of north and north-eastern Karnataka were dry and had limited or no biodiversity.

“Bidar has 8,000 hectares of green forest patch and one can spot over 150 bird species, apart from the migratory birds. The birds of the dry land species are common to Bidar and other places in the region. The idea was also to ensure that serious bird watchers come and not the ones interested in mere photography for social media, which was noticed in Dandeli. It is also to encourage and educate amateurs about many lesser-known species,” said a senior forest official.

This is the second territorial forest location chosen by the department to host the festival, after Daroji and its surroundings in Ballari.

The first edition of Hakki Habba was held in Ranganthittu, the second at Kali Tiger Reserve in Dandeli, third at Daroji and the fourth was held in Mangaluru (here bird watching was held in the middle of the sea).

Apart from this, the department hosted an exclusive and first-ever Hornbill festival at Kali Tiger Reserve in January this year.

Some birds one can sight in Bidar are - Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Indian Courser, Grey-necked Bunting, Black Headed Bunting, Red headed Bunting, Harriers and Painted Patridge.