The Pathanamthitta edition of the Kerala Bird Atlas, a citizen science project to map the distribution and abundance of birds in the State, is fast progressing.
The bird atlas project is being carried out by Pathanamthitta Birders, an association of birdwatchers in central Travancore.
Talking to The Hindu , Hari Mavelikara, coordinator of the District Bird Atlas Project, said the bird count in the district began in 2015 and would be completed this year itself.
He said the survey was being carried out in two seasons, monsoon and summer, every year. The ongoing monsoon bird survey that began on July 16 would end on September 15. “Kerala is the first State in the country to conduct a bird atlas and the survey that began in 2015 will come to a close in September,” he said.
Anish Sasidevan, Jiji Sam, Aju K. Raju, Siyad Karim, Robin C. Koshy, Libin Abraham, Siju Joseph, Nisanth Raveendran, Eby Kuryan, Sajin Seethi, Shameena, Harithakrishnan, Hari Kumar Mannar, Jayakrishnan, Biju P.B., Venu G., Aswin Nisanth, Tijin, and Tony are part of the survey team headed by Mr Hari.
Mr. Hari said the team had conducted a two-day Asian Water Bird Census too in seven wetlands in the district in January. The survey registered a fall in the number of water birds in the district, compared to the survey results of 2019, he said.
The census was aimed at obtaining information on an annual basis of the water bird population in wetlands in the region during the non-breeding period of most species (January).
The birds spotted by the Pathanamthitta Birders over the past four years included flame-throated bulbul, Malabar trogon, crested serpent eagle, brown fish owl, orange-headed thrush, spot-billed duck, little ringed plover, common greenshack, painted stork, Indian Pitta (forest bird), black-shouldered kite, grey heron, and oriental darter, Mr. Hari said.
