DELHI STARTS COUNTING: THE BIG BUTTERFLY MONTH IS BACK
Ahoy denizens! It’s that time of the year again when some of the prettiest winged creatures get counted in the city. September, which has been demarcated as the Big Butterfly Month 2021, has special butterfly count walks, contests and lectures in progress, much to the delight of Nature enthusiasts.
“The response has been great, better than last year. We are in talks with schools for actual walks where actual counts can be done. We weren’t able to do it last year, but this year we can,” says Sohail Madan, centre manager, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), adding, “Habitat workshops have been planned, where we’ll have small group interactions with an aim to do on-ground activities. We’ll also conduct a 30-minute count to get an idea of the population of butterflies. All this is being recorded as part of the nationwide survey. There are also contests like photography and videography, where people can participate. Walks will be conducted on September 25 and 26, and their details we will share soon.”
Delhiites sure know how to enjoy watching these colourful creatures. Jasmeet Kaur, an entrepreneur from Old Rajender Nagar, who recently took her two daughters on a butterfly walk, says, “It was such a refreshing experience. We spotted so many different kinds of butterflies, and were trying to count their wings or spot their different colours, and played many games. My elder daughter loves to paint and she painted some of the butterflies. I’ve now told my kids to read up and spot the butterflies we saw on the internet. We are looking forward to go for another walk this month,” she says. Krushnamegh Kunte, associate professor at National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) from Indian Foundation for Butterflies trust, informs, “Among our activities planned for this month, the first is an image based contribution on the website. People have to take pictures and submit them on the website, Butterflies of India. We will then review and publish these on the website. It creates an archive of butterfly observations, and also includes images that people can refer to see what variations we find in various parts of the country. Secondly, we have an activity wherein we will count butterflies in 30 minute slots. This is a slightly more advanced way of observing and noting down butterflies. Instead of saying that I saw five species, you can talk about the abundance. The third activity is the actual butterfly count on the field.”
Across the city, other butterfly spotting and counting walks have also begun. Sachin Bansal, from India City Walks, says, “Depending on the Covid situation, we have planned special walks where we would organise activities such as the Big Butterfly Count where kids need to count the butterflies, and also find butterflies on the basis of their colours. We have also come up with a gardening workshop, to conserve and maintain the environment. These are all responsible tourism workshops and it’s called Bond with Nature.”
In talks with schools for actual walks where actual counts can be done. We weren’t able to do it last year, but this year we can. SOHAIL MADAN, From BNHS
People have to take pictures and submit them on the website, Butterflies of India. We will then review and publish these. KRUSHNAMEGH KUNTE, from NCBS