JOIN USA motley group of 150 birders ‘Walked The Chirp’ in search of their feathered friends in and around the countryside of Manipal.
The occasion was the 10th edition of Manipal Bird Day, organised by Manipal Birders’ Group, on Sunday.
The day began with ‘Bird Walk’ from Hotel Sheela Sagar (Opposite MIT campus). The birders divided themselves in smaller groups of 10-12 members and followed 13 different trails which took them through different terrains like hills, plains, paddy fields and wetlands. The idea was to sight as many birds as possible and record their presence in the region.
When the walk ended at about 10 am, the different groups had recorded a total of 125 species of birds, which was a bit lesser than the sightings of the yester years.
''The 10th edition has seen a very good growth of interest among people. At the same time a decline has been seen in the bird species sighted compared to previous years,” said one of the organisers.
Some of the rare birds sighted were Indian Pitta, Oriental Turtle Dove, Fork-Tailed Drongo Cuckoo, Orange Breasted Green Pigeon, Eurasian Marsh Harrier and Malabar Pied Hornbill.
Interaction session
The bird walk was followed with an interaction session at KMC Food Court and MAHE Vice Chancellor Dr H Vinod Bhat presided over the function. He felicitated six people, who had actively participated in the recent rescue mission of abandoned birds in Manipal.
Later, a talk on ‘Ethical Photography’ by Dhruvam Desai, final year student of MIT-Manipal, was held. This was followed by ‘Backyard Birding’ with Shubha Bhat from IISc-Bengaluru.
She spoke on different ways to feed the birds with water using different materials for bird baths.
“I have recorded 120 species of birds from bird baths in my garden,’’ she said. She encouraged the participants to have bird baths in their gardens or flats which will help quench the thirst of these little winged wonders during summer.
An art exhibition titled ‘Feathered Jewels’ by Aditya Bhat was also held. Bhat presented around 18 paintings all from his memory of birding encounters.
Manipal Bird Day is an annual event dedicated to celebrating birds in Manipal. This day-long event brings together a large number of birders from Manipal, Udupi, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Bengaluru, Davangere and other places.
Around 150-200 arrive to take part in the event, who are split into different teams. They visit the assigned regions and count as many birds as possible.
This non-competitive event focuses on spreading awareness regarding the diverse avifauna around us.