Over 100 birdwatchers will be part of the eighth edition of the Kerala Bird Race to be held in the city and its suburbs on Sunday.
Birders from Kochi and Thrissur districts will look out for birds and compile a list. Each group comprising three to four members will have an experienced birder, who will lead the enthusiasts. A logbook would be provided to the team members to record data on birds including the species and its count, said Vishnupriyan Kartha of the Cochin Natural History Society, which is coordinating the event.
Around 40 birdwatchers attended the briefing session held at Mangalavanam on Thursday. Besides Kochi, the exercise will also be held in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode on Sunday.
According to the organisers, it is a dawn-to-dusk programme where teams of birdwatchers will spend the day birding in and around each city, covering a wide range of bird habitats.
In Kochi, bird enthusiasts will travel to Kadamakkudy and Devaswom Padam wetlands, Puthuvypeen beach, Kandakkadavu and Kalathara wetlands. An eight-member team from Ezhupunna will also join the event. The forest areas of Edamalayar, Bhoothathankettu, Thattekad in Ernakulam and Chimmini and Vazhani areas of Thrissur district will also be covered. In Thrissur, the kole wetlands will be surveyed by birders.
There are no pre-determined routes. Participants may watch birds at multiple locations within 30-50 km radius of the city to try and see as many as birds possible. In the evening, the team members will assemble at one point to discuss the birding experience.
The event will provide novices an opportunity to interact with some of the finest birders in the city. For those interested candidates who have missed the opportunity to register their names with the organisers, Mr. Kartha has said that last-minute entries too will be accommodated. He may be contacted at 94464 37410. The organisers may also be contacted at cochinnaturalhistorysociety@gmail.com .
