A unique bird race organised near the water bodies and at wetlands, grasslands, forest, hills and scrub habitats around Jaipur recently has found preponderance of water-centric bird species in the vicinity of the Rajasthan Capital. The comprehensive bird species spotting was the first activity of its kind undertaken in Jaipur.
The bird race coincided with the 25th Indian Birding Fair, as part of which five teams having four members each were constituted and were provided with open jeeps to visit different habitats for three hours in the morning. The birding fair’s organiser, Tourism & Wildlife Society of India (TWSI), was entrusted to execute the activity.
All avian data was analysed and habitat-wise quantification was carried out after the exercise. TWSI secretary Harsh Vardhan said here on Friday that about 20 members of the teams spent 15 hours and totalled 151 bird species within 250 sq. km area around Jaipur. The team members went to places like Nevta dam, Chandlai lake and Jhalana leopard reserve.
The maximum species and their numbers detected during the activity were water-centric. They included the birds such as shoveler, bar-headed goose, spotbill duck, little grebe, coot, Indian cormorant, black-winged stilt and great white pelican.
Surprisingly, all of these birdwatchers could score only 158 house sparrows during the activity. Mr. Vardhan said the figures amply indicated the decline of house sparrows and the need to start their ex situ breeding through nest boxes at homes. TWSI president Anand Mishra has offered to supply 5,500 such boxes at the citizens’ premises in the city.
The least numbers happened to be of the bird species like Indian nightjar, Eurasian wryneck, pipit, prinia, warbler, purple heron, spoonbill and chestnut-bellied sandgrouse. Mr. Vardhan said new feed-related studies should be undertaken for birds around the urban areas to find the reasons for decline in their numbers.
The observations were quantified and the top birdwatchers were selected after the bird race. United Nations Environment Programme’s former Executive Director Erik Solheim gave away prizes to the winners here last week. Govind Yadav, a business teacher at a school, scored 115 species at Chandlai and Barkhera water bodies south of Jaipur to attain top position in the race.
Nishant Nath Shukla, a science teacher, was placed with 91 species observed at Nevta dam. Rakesh Sharma, a wildlife metal badge manufacturer, was third with 58 species at Man Sagar lake. Naveen Kumar Singh, serving at a German bank, scored 54 species at Jhalana leopard reserve, while Pulkit Tank, a graduate student, listed 29 species at Bir Papad, a new grassland habitat being developed north-west of Jaipur.
Mr. Solheim lauded the initiative and said the environmental groups should also take up an activity for estimating the tree survival rate. Deputy Conservator of Forest Ajay Chittora said the bird race would be an annual feature as part of the Forest Department’s efforts to revamp the wild habitats. Mr. Solheim released a book titled “Green Living Example”, authored by Mr. Mishra, on the occasion.
