A bird’s-eye view? Join 4th Karnala bird count

Its’ a great news for birdwatchers as the Maharashtra Forest Department and Green Works Trust (GWT) have jointly planned the 4th Karnala Bird Count event to count the birds at Panvel's Karnala Bird Sanctuary (KBS). Starting from May 27, the participants can register themselves for the three-day event till May 8.

This is the fourth occasion when common citizens will be involved in the official bird count activity, GWT founder and wildlife expert Nikhil Bhopale stated, while underlining that this is a scientific bird count not a photography expedition or leisure tour.

Describing the upcoming event as a “very unique experience of working with bird experts”, Bhopale said the bird sanctuary is located around 10 km from Panvel in Raigad district, where 171 different species of birds have been spotted in three previous counts.

It all started in December, 2020, when a total of 27 citizens and birdwatchers initially spotted 103 bird species during two days' activity; the first ever official bird count at KBS.

Back then, new bird species spotted were Alpine Swift, Indian Scops Owl, Indian Eagle Owl, Indian Pitta, Common Hawk Cuckoo and Peregrine Falcon feeding on Parakeet.

According to Bhopale, the objective of including common citizens and bird lovers is to sensitise them about the importance of biodiversity.

“The event has been conceptualised by the GWT in association with the MFD. It has a two-fold benefit— scientific study of birds along with citizens’ awareness,” he added.

Normally, the survey is conducted using two types of bird count sampling methods viz line Transect and point Counts.

“The 9 line transects and 5-point counts are done to cover the sanctuary area of 12.48 sq km. This count is aimed to document bird population and avifaunal diversity of the sanctuary,” he explained.

Ten Rare Birds spotted during previous survey

Alpine Swift Indian Scops Owl Indian Eagle Owl Indian Pitta Common Hawk Cuckoo

Peregrine Falcon Ashy Minivet Three-toed kingfisher Malabar Trogon Hawk Cuckoo