During the even t, over 100 bird types were identified in Kolkata. Bird watchers state 295 types of birds have actually been spotted in the city in the previous 12 months. The figure would appear surprising for those who believed Kolkata played host to just crows, sparrows, typical myna, Indian koel, drongo and rose-ringed parakeet. But birders state there are much more birds that check out the city however have actually not yet been spotted.
While Bengal does host and draw in a range of birds due to its geographically varied environment that varies from the Himalayas in the north to the Gangetic plains in the center and the Bay of Bengal in the south, the factor behind the state’s and the city’s excellent tally, state ornithologists, is the a great deal of ears and eyes on the ground. “Had this count happened a decade-and-a-half ago, the figure would have been a lot lower, not because there were less birds but because there were fewer birders and bird-spotting was not as organised as it is now. I am certain there are more bird species in Assam but they don’t get recorded because birding activity is not as vibrant the re as it is here,” said ornithologist Sumit Sen. Birdwatching in Kolkata started in 1978 when Prakriti Sansad was formed by leaders like Kushal Mukherjee and Kalyan Dey. While they h advertisement a band of fans, the restrictions in bird viewing help and literature indicated that it did not get mass approval till over twenty years later on when access to good field glasses followed by digital video cameras and lastly the arrival of social networks caused a boom in bird photography.
“Suddenly, connectivity, visibility, sharing of information and appreciation of photographs zoomed. It acted as a bait to hook more people into the birding movement. The checklist is becoming larger at a rapid pace. On an average winter day, more than 100 species of birds can be spotted in Kolkata,” said Bird Watchers’ Society secretary Sujan Chatterjee.
It was around 2004 that interactions expert Sudipto Roy got interested. “I saw a website by Sumit Sen on Kolkata’s birds and was astounded by the sheer variety of birds that were there in the city that I had no knowledge of. The interest that was sparked around two decades ago continues to fuel me,” said Roy. After the restriction on photography at Rabindra Sarobar was lifted in 2011, infotech expert Sudip Ghosh and doctor Sumit Sengupta required to birding , rather out of interest however mainly to take a look at digital video cameras with zoom lenses that they had actually bought. “We had bumped into each other. Sengupta was walking around Sarobar with a fancy camera and I was also pottering around as I live in an apartment on Southern Avenue. After a brief introduction, we decided to go around looking for birds. We spotted quite a few. Since then, we haven’t stopped looking around for more,” stated Ghosh.
The duo is credited with turning Rabindra Sarobar into a birding location. They have actually motivated numerous 100 youths to use up birding. After a preliminary clash of words with the management of Lions’ Safari Park at Sarobar in 2013, the 2 handled to persuade them to likewise sign up with the motion and contribute by simply leaving an area ignored. Now, that thicket with wild overgrowth is possibly the city’s most valued bird environment. “Over the years, there have been over 130 species of birds at Rabindra Sarobar. Other than water birds like painted stork, cormorants and black crowned night heron, over 100 species can be spotted through the year at Safari Park alone,” said Sengupta.
The breathing medication expert said bird-watching was not simply a tranquil, non-competitive sport that enabled one to 9 satisfy and bond with individuals from varied fields, it likewise had a fantastic restorative worth as it caused an enhancement of physical and psychological health. “Birding is a great stress buster a s it is an activity that takes place in the lap of nature,” he explained.
Over the years, boost in birding activities has actually likewise caused preservation of some city bird environments. “Whenever we go out in the field we not only click pictures but also keep an eye on whether the birds’ habitats are safe and secure. The moment we find any discrepancy, we report it to the authorities concerned. For example, the issue of stubble-burning leading to habitat destruction in Rajarhat has been highlighted several times by birder s like us. Similarly, we alerted the forest department a few years ago on protecting a wetland habitat at Gocharan near Joynagar that offers a good scope to sight yellow bittern, a species which was once common in urban wetlands but is now hard to find,” said professional photographer and a devoted birder, Siddhartha Dey, who’s likewise a member of city-based birding neighborhood LensnWings. “Birding also results in awareness among locals. During field trips, we disseminate knowledge among locals about a species — like how a species like open-billed stork, which is common in Rajarhat, helps in agriculture,” included Dey.
The primary step towards birding, according to professionals, is to start finding out about regional birds. “Connect with local birding groups or clubs to meet experienced birdwatchers, participate in group outings and learn from their expertise,” included Sengupta.
A high charge on video cameras enforced by the state forest department at Central Park has actually come as a damper. Birder and business person Navin Agarwal, who required to photography at Central Par k after his interest was ignited by the various bird calls throughout early morning walk, hopes foresters will see factor faster than later on and enable birding activity to resume unrestricted.
