The ornithologists as a part of the animal Bird Race event organized jointly by Natural Heritage Conservation Society ( NHCS ) – Gandhinagar and international bank identified only 160 bird species in and around Ahmedabad city.
Last year the same even had identified over 260 bird species. This was the seventh time such an event was held in Ahmedabad in which around 140 participated in group of 40 teams. More than 160 species of bird were recorded during around the city.
Each team spent its entire day watching birds in and around Ahmedabad with their own tally of species. Earlier bird races in Ahmedabad have recorded more than 260 species of birds. These teams moved around at a critical point on the avifaunal migration route, and flanked by a vast landscape of open habitats, from agricultural tracts to semi –arid landscapes, inland wetlands and secondary growth, and area with human population.
There were no pre – determined routes to the Bird Race – participants observed the birds at multiple locations all within 30 – 40 km radius of the city. According to Virag Vya, a research coordinator NHCS, Ecologists Irshad Theba and Bharat Jethva during the race the team identified rare species which included White Stork, Short – eared Owl, Red Avadavat ( Red Munia ), Booted eagle were sighted by different teams.
The coordinators said that the programme helped to create awareness and conservation ethos among the citizens. The participants were also sensitized towards the bird injuries during Uttarayan.
Courtesy:- Times Of India