Hyderabad: Bird counts around the country have an “urban bias” as they were mainly conducted by urban dwellers, say bird watchers. “Birding is done mostly in urban settlements by people who love to do it but the same activity cannot be seen in rural areas as much and therefore the lists are skewed. There needs to be greater awareness regarding the same to increase participation across the country to get accurate results,” said Mr Sumit K. Sen, a bird watcher.
Social media has also become a hub for many bird photographers. However, they shouldn’t be confused with experts. Birder Aranya Sen said: “Nowadays many people put up photographs of birds on social media platforms but I doubt whether any of them contribute to bird watching by travelling across the country. These photographs should be treated as a work of art but not be counted in lists.”
“The black kite is common and yet it is not featured in the lists. The bird count should not be restricted to time. Perhaps more study will ensure that we do not have an ephemeral list. But, the participation of urban dwellers is promising as they are trying to connect with nature,” said Mr Sen.
Experts state that more species are seen growing stronger in number and adapting themselves to the urbanised environment, which is a good sign. More urban dwellers opted for the backyard count as they could easily login and submit their lists. The count did not include travel and enthusiasts were asked to look for birds specific to their areas. Description of each bird was given online with photographs as evidence.
