The picturesque Siruvani, located at 35 kms from the city, always holds pleasant surprises for birders. Members of Coimbatore Nature Society (CNS) spotted the rare Great Hornbill here.
“It is exciting to spot a rare bird, especially when ornithologists are worried about the decline in their numbers” says birder Balaji P.B
At another outing, they saw the elusive Malabar Trogan, often seen in Shola forests.
“Once a jungle owlet too surprised us by showing up,” says Prakash G, another member. Ponnuthu near Pannimadai village is another birding hotspot. The Yellow-throated Bulbul and European Bee-Eater were seen there. Coimbatore has over 20 such havens for both birds and bird lovers.
A. Paavendhan mentions the Eurasian Roller, Red-necked Phalarope, Greater Spotted Eagle and adds, “We have also seen Gulls, Lesser Kestrel and owls. The Greater Flamingos (juvenile) flew in to Sulur,” he says.
A new book called Birds of Coimbatore has just been launched in which 321 bird species, residents and visitors, and the birding hotspots are documented. The book has been brought out by CNS and Young Indians (Yi) Coimbatore Chapter of CII. Balaji who is the current chair of Yi says that the idea took shape at the Kovai Vizha celebrations.
“We wanted to bring out a series of books to document the natural history of the city. Coimbatore is exceptionally rich in bird life and has a unique geography of forests, hills and grasslands. On online forums like ebird, the maximum number of bird sightings recorded in Tamil Nadu is from Coimbatore. And CNS was already on the job of compiling a checklist on birds of Coimbatore readily agreed to work on a book.”
A dedicated CNS team put in nine months to compile the data collected over a period of three years.
“Students, professionals, entrepreneurs, everyone has contributed. Every single entry has been verified and validated. The book is unique as it pertains to the city and the suburbs. We have covered Ponnuthu, Kallar, Achankulam, Bedathapuram, Marudhamalai, Top Slip, Valparai, Anaikatty, Narasipuram, Siruvani, and Pachapalayam that support a variety of habitats like evergreen forests, wetlands, dry forests, water bodies and dry grasslands,” says P.R. Selvaraj, president of CNS.-= “The book is a scientific data that will initiate more people into bird watching and will eventually lead to conservation.”
Participating in the data collection was a huge learning curve, says Selvaraj. “Every outing is unique. Some days are dull while some are full of surprises. We also look at the bigger picture of conservation and this book is a staring point.”
There is also information on the ecosystem of Coimbatore. The book also spells out how to identify birds.
The bird profile section gives a brief introduction of every bird, the IUCN status, the habitat, and whether it is a migrant or a resident bird. “We call a group of birders who follow and record a particular bird as ‘twitchers’. They can choose a hotspot based on their interest,” says Balaji.
Though there are field guides by Grimmet and Salim Ali, the data there often confuses the beginners as there are a lot of similar looking birds and some of them do not occur in Tamil Nadu. “This book is a great guide for beginners as they can learn about the habits of the birds too. And veteran birders will also benefit from it.”
Prakash says birders needn’t travel to Kerala or Karnataka to spot unusual birds.
“Just step out and roam around in the city with the book in hand. We have recorded some commendable sightings like the Montagu Harrier, White-eyed Buzzard and Short-eared Owl at Pachapalyam, the only existing patch of dry grassland in the city.”
There is also a section in the book that gives the common Tamil names like chembothu (Souther Coucal), Panai Uzhavaran (palm swifts) Valluru (Shikra).
Paavendhan says the objective of the book is to take birding and Nature to the common man.
“We have not designed the book to replace any existing field guide or as a compilation of scientific data, it is only to reach out to the masses. We have given a simple description with an accompanying photograph. A FAQ section addresses the common doubts of beginners. CNS has been birding for 180 weeks without a break. We want to set a benchmark with Birds of Coimbatore .”
P. Pramod, Senior Scientist, SACON
