Chennai's winged wonders

Arun Shankar and his friends landed in Pulicat at 2 am on Sunday. A member of the Palni Hills Conservation Council and an avid birder, Arun came to the city
to participate in the 3rd HSBC Chennai BirdRace. Alarmingly, his team did not spot even a flamingo in its own habitat, the shallow waters of Pulicat. “There was an oil slick. Make sure the paradise is protected,’’ says Arun.

In the third edition of the BirdRace, experienced and budding birdwatchers raced against the clock to spot, identify, and record as many species of birds as possible in and around the city.

At the end of the day after racing around the city from 6 am to 6 pm, Radha Napolean, a first-timer, was feeling sad despite spotting 69 species of birds. “Pallikaranai is marsh land. Unfortunately it is now prime real estate as well as a dumping ground, which endangers the birds,’’ she said.


The younger generation though was happy. Anita Gandhi, an economics student, was happy to have seen spoon bills, ibis, pelicans. “I saw a kingfisher for the first time. Its different colours were so alluring and attractive,’’ she said remembering the bird’s image. Keertana, at age 8, the youngest captain of 41 teams, said she saw a whole lot of birds in Kovalam and Mudaliarkuppam on Sunday but the golden oriole she saw at her cousin’s house is still vivid in her memory.

Neena Simon was part of the team that won the last year’s race by spotting over 160 birds. This year, she was one of the “green team’’ that travelled by public transport. Their count this year was 111 species. “We saw grey breasted prinia, black napped oriole and grey bellied cuckoo. Sadly, shrikes, very small birds of prey, were missing this year,’’ says Hopeland, the team leader.

The image of the day for Dattari Jr was a flock of 250 open billed storks flying above IIT-M. A jackal, two mongooses and a garden lizard laying eggs rounded off an amazing day. Gayathri has never really noticed birds except for a pigeon or a house crow. Travelling along OMR and ECR, Gayathri, who forced her parents to participate, had a feast to her eyes. “I don’t know the names. It’s good. Yeah.’’

Kailash, an avid birder, was delighted to have spotted the red munia near Vedanthangal. “The scrub jungle there has a lot of woodland birds,’’ he says. A team from Andhra Pradesh reached Pulicat by 5 am. “It was a cloudy day. It was the perfect weather. The diversity was less but the bird count was big,’’ said Durga.

“This is where conservation begins. It begins as fun, then passion takes over,’’ said Preston Ahimaz, a veteran birder. ``Children carry the images all their life. The passion for birding will make them crusaders of conservation in future,'' says V Santharam, director, Institute of Bird Studies, Rishi Valley.

Ioras and Robins

Until two decades ago, species of birds such as Magpie Robins and Common Ioras played in the backyard gardens of spacious homes dotting city localities like Santhome. Now, one can find these birds only in forests, says experts. Similar is the case of the Brahmini Kite. This bird, which was once a common sight in the city, is rarely found due to the high pollution.

In order to create awareness among people about the dwindling bird population and the reasons behind the decline such as pollution and erosion of habitat, the Madras Naturalists’ Society (MNS) is encouraging participation in the forthcoming HSBC Chennai BirdRace.

V Shantharam, director, Institute of Bird Studies, Rishi Valley, who studied woodpeckers for his doctorate in ecology, will be the chief judge at this year’s event, which will be held in the city and its suburbs. It is hoped that conservation efforts will be fostered through the event.

In the 20 years that he lived in the city till 1997, Shantharam had recorded 300 species of birds, mostly on water bodies and scrub forests. Since then, rapid urbanisation has reduced the numbers. Hectic construction activity, pollution and water bodies turning into dumping sites have contributed to the decline.



This will be the third edition of Chennai BirdRace organised by MNS, a 30-year old nature conservation group. Last year, over 40 teams of four persons each participated in the race that begins at dawn and ends at dusk. “The response was amazing. There were eight-year olds and 80-year-olds taking part in the event. Bankers, directors of companies, doctors, managers, academicians and students from corporation schools found time to spot birds and record their presence,’’ says K V Sudhakar, honorary secretary, MNS.

Come January 10, experienced and budding birdwatchers will race against the clock to spot, identify, and record as many species of birds as possible in and around their city. At the end of the day, the participants gather for an interactive session.

“Positioned as a fun event, the bird race is aimed at generating awareness about bird life in their surroundings as well as to garner support for the conservation of nature and environment. Over time, birding gives us a good idea of the city’s bird life and threat to different species,” Sudhakar said.