During the four days between February 16 and 19 more than 1,000 birdwatchers throughout India will come together with the goal of documenting as many birds as possible across the country’s diverse locations.
Over one lakh birdwatchers globally participate in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), and last year India not only ranked as the second-highest contributing country worldwide, but it also discovered more bird species than any other, according to a press release today.
In 2023 India proudly secured third position globally for number of reported species, closely following Colombia and Ecuador. Additionally, it claimed second spot for number of uploaded bird lists, trailing after the United States. Among the most frequently observed birds in India were the Himalayan Bulbul in the Himalayas, House Crow in both the north and the south, Red-vented Bulbul in the eastern and central regions, Feral Pigeon in the west, and Plume-toed Swift in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
GBBC not only serves as a fun event for novice and seasoned birdwatchers alike but also contributes to citizen science by aiding in understanding the status of avian populations in India.
“GBBC for me is a way to contribute to the larger good. Something that’s fun but with a purpose. However, looking back, I realise that it made me a better birder. Over the years it has helped appreciate the bird life in my immediate surroundings,” Sagarika Gupta, a passionate birdwatcher from Chennai said. “I started noticing birds and bird calls throughout the day, a tailor bird somewhere, a myna or a flock of parakeets or a pair of treepies or a lone Shikra. The post noon soaring of Painted Storks and Indian Spot-billed Ducks to flocks of Yellow Wagtails and Glossy ibises moving to roost in evening, to egrets feeding their fledgling to crows attacking Koel, were observed from my balcony. I realised that one doesn’t need to be in a birding hotspot to observe bird habits and behaviour.”
GBBC in India is coordinated by Bird Count India, an umbrella group of a large number of birding, nature and conservation organisations. The global GBBC is organised by Cornell University and the Audubon Society in the USA.
Participants are encouraged to list all bird species seen at a particular location over a period of 15 minutes or more, at any time during the four days, and upload the list to the bird recording platform eBird (https://ebird.org/india/home), which makes checklist creation easier. This can be repeated as often as possible. During GBBC, a lot of local birdwatching walks and talks are planned across the country for the public to join in.
Along with GBBC, campuses across India also take part in the sister event, Campus Bird Count, which is aimed at monitoring bird populations in educational and institutional campuses. Outside protected areas such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, these institutions are becoming increasingly vital habitats for wildlife.
