Shimla to hold bird chase to log winged residents
April 23rd, 2011 - 5:42 pm ICT by IANSShimla, April 23 (IANS) A band of ornithologists has entered unique race in this Himachal Pradesh resort town. They will chase birds in the wilderness, an event organiser said here Saturday.
The bird watchers in association with the state forest department are organising a dawn-to-dusk bird identifying exercise Sunday in and around Shimla.
“The aim is to promote the concept of bird watching and to know the exact status of the birds living around us,” Somesh Goyal, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer associated with the group, Himachal Birds, told IANS.
He said this was the first-ever exercise in the town.
“The last comprehensive list of bird species was prepared by Frome and Hugh Whistler sometime before independence,” he said.
According to Goyal, efforts were made earlier by some individuals and researchers to list the bird species in a few pockets in Shimla and its surrounding areas. It is estimated that around 100 species, including rare pheasants like koklash, kaleej and cheer, are found here.
Goyal said eight special tracks have been selected for the race. Every bird watcher has to record the sighting of birds in the log book. In the evening, the data would be compiled.
On World Sparrow Day (March 20), the Himachal Birds had launched a campaign to create awareness about the sharp decline in the number of sparrows and other small birds in the town.
The forum is installing 40 artificial nests in Shimla’s parks and open spaces to enable the birds breed.
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- IUCN to inspect Great Himalayan National Park - Jul 18, 2011
- Endangered pheasant species multiply in Himalayan park (With Image) - May 08, 2012
- Endangered Himachal pheasant species breeds again - Jul 04, 2012
- Are house sparrows being driven away? (March 20 is World Sparrow Day) - Mar 19, 2012
- Now GPS to monitor winged visitors to Himachal - Jan 22, 2011
- Sparrows twittering louder to be heard - Apr 03, 2012
- IUCN to inspect Himachal national park next year - Dec 17, 2011
- Where have all the sparrows gone? (With Images) (March 20 is World House Sparrow Day) - Mar 19, 2011
- Donate binoculars, promote eco-awareness - Sep 02, 2011
Tags: artificial nests, bird species, bird watcher, bird watchers, chase, cheer, dawn to dusk, exact status, frome, himachal pradesh, indian police service, kaleej, open spaces, ornithologists, pheasants, pockets, small birds, sparrow, sparrows, state forest department