Having started in 1997, the concept of annual birding fair adopted in Rajasthan for conservation of birds is proving successful with the 25th fair going to be organised this month-end on the banks of the historic Man Sagar lake in Jaipur. Wildlife enthusiasts and environmental activists in the State have joined hands for giving a lifetime experience to avid bird watchers.
The visitors, assisted by experts from Keoladeo National Park of Bharatpur, have been observing a large number of beautiful aquatic birds in the 400-year-old lake. Hundreds of nature lovers, bird watchers and students and teachers of local schools, enthused at the opportunity to spot waders in their natural habitat with the help of binoculars, throng the lake banks during the fairs.
Regular visitors
The conservation efforts have been stepped up with a decline in the number of birds over the years because of lack of aquatic vegetation. Wading birds such as little stint, green sandpiper, small pratincole, pied avocet, Jerdon’s courser, black winged stilt and many more species are spotted with regularity during the annual fairs. These tiny birds are mostly confined to the edges of water.
Man Sagar is an artificial lake named after Man Singh, the then ruler of Amber and a trusted general of Mughal Emperor Akbar, who had built it in 1610 by damming the Dravyavati river. A palace, Jal Mahal, is situated in the middle of the lake. The series of fairs have also led to the lake’s restoration as a clean waterbody hosting a number of migratory birds with the sustained efforts of government and citizens.
The biggest attractions of the fairs are the numerous bird watching sites available at the lake. Children take part in the activities such as open air sessions, bird watching, tattoo making and face painting as well as quiz, drawings and paintings. Experts at the venue explain the significance of each bird in the environment and lay emphasis on their conservation.
Better documentation
The Tourism & Wildlife Society of India (TWSI), the main organiser of the fairs, has brought out a publication on these birds, carrying their taxonomic and common names and identifiable pictures. Experts have also called for better documentation of migratory birds, many of which travel annually to India and spend winter at Man Sagar and go back to their native places in Russia, Mongolia and China to breed.
TWSI honorary secretary Harsh Vardhan told The Hindu that the birding fairs had commenced in 1997 by getting an inspiration from Rutland Water Birdfair, held every July in the U.K., which has since been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Birdfair’s original founder Tim Appleton has announced a relaunch of the event as the Global Birdfair in July this year in the county of Rutland.
Mr. Vardhan said the volunteers, who were the “core strength” of birding fairs, remained in conservation action throughout the year and were often invited by schools to give demonstrative sessions. “Eventually, a new conservation equity has got coined in the shape of fair conservation, as the volunteers give away their best and derive the maximum out of these events,” he said.
Mr. Vardhan said the volunteers, who were the “core strength” of birding fairs, remained in conservation action throughout the year and were often invited by schools to give demonstrative sessions. “Eventually, a new conservation equity has got coined in the shape of fair conservation, as the volunteers give away their best and derive the maximum out of these events,” he said.
Nature and mankind
“The surprise how the fair could run all these years lies in building a viable core group of volunteers. They would arrange all aspects and also show birds to visitors, while assisting the experts coming from Bharatpur,” Mr. Vardhan said, expressing the hope that the 25th fair would encourage the people to evolve a balance between nature and mankind. Significantly, the Indian subcontinent hosts 84 species of wading birds, 64 of which are migratory.
For the first time, the birding fair was taken to Nevta village, situated 22 km away from Jaipur, last month to enable the rural people to know more about their surrounding ecology dotted by birds, while the village’s pond was identified for being restored. Over 200 bird species have been spotted at Nevta dam and the surrounding marshland.
The villagers and students of the local Government Senior Secondary School took part enthusiastically in the fair and identified the migratory birds inhabiting the region between October and March. Bird feeders were given away as prizes to the winners in the nature quiz conducted by volunteer Nishant Nath Shukla and his colleagues.
