BNHS organizes count of common birds on 11th September
Monsoon session of Common Bird Monitoring Programme initiated by BNHS
Mumbai: 6th September: Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) announces bird count for the monsoon season, on the 11th September under its initiative Common Bird Monitoring Programme. BNHS invites bird watchers, NGOs, ornithologists, and nature lovers to participate in this count which will be conducted across three seasons on a pan-India level. This programme is based on scientific methodology leading to data collection and in turn conservation of neighborhood species.
How to participate
Grids measuring 2 sq.km have been plotted using GIS to ensure scientific approach. The participants will be allotted grids after they send us their location; following the line transect method participants will have to record birds in the data sheet provided by us.
- Send us your location details on [email protected]
· Download and open Google Earth
· Find your location and pin it with a mark (option available on the toolbar)
· Email the location to BNHS on [email protected]
- BNHS will then send a pre-decided grid to you based on your location. If the given grid cannot be covered due to any restrictions, get back to us.
- Follow the line transect method, i.e. walk along the predetermined route at a steady pace to record birds on or near the route, kindly note not to record the birds behind your position.
- The count should ideally begin at 7 a.m. and certainly not exceed beyond 9 a.m. as birds are more active during early hours of the day.
- Each participant will be provided with a data sheet (soft copy) to be printed and filled on the field. A demo data sheet (already filled) will also be sent for the participant’s understanding of the process of recording their sightings.
- The participants can either submit the filled data sheets immediately after the count or enter the data into the count summary sheets (pre-prepared excel sheet containing a comprehensive list of bird species commonly encountered in and around your location) and send it to BNHS via email. After receiving data sheets for all three seasons (monsoon, winter, summer) the participants will receive an acknowledgement letter from BNHS.
Common Bird Monitoring Programme
Common Bird Monitoring Programme (CBMP) is a citizen science programme with the objective of involving maximum people in observing birds in their backyard or places they visit regularly. There is a need to accurately monitor trends in common bird populations which motivated us to design the CBMP. Common birds like house sparrow are facing numerous anthropogenic pressures in the form of developmental activities thus making it necessary to monitor them to understand their current status. Dr Raju Kasambe, Programme Manager – IBA, BNHS says, “Monitoring common birds will help us in establishing a baseline data about species distribution and abundance. This data and long term monitoring will aid in understanding population changes of common birds over a period of time. Some birds might be declining but the change being unnoticed. This programme will find these changes in populations of common birds like sparrows and bulbuls.”
