Birdwatchers make a beeline for Point Calimere

The diverse habitats of Point Calimere near Vedaranyam, which includes a tropical dry evergreen forest, scrub jungle, mud flats, salt pans, and beaches, has made the area an ideal place for the students of ornithology to study a wide range of birds.

With the arrival of the monsoon, a variety of migratory birds are passing through Point Calimere and using it as a stopover site.

A five-day ornithology camp on bird migration began at Point Calimere on October 17. The camp is organised by the Bombay National History Society’s Bird Migration Study Centre at Point Calimere.

The Deputy Director of the Bombay Natural History Society, S. Balachandran, told

The Hindu that the society had been organising a one-year certificate course in subjects like basic ornithology and a leadership course in biodiversity conservation for many years.

Twenty-five participants from different parts of India, including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, are taking part in the camp. Participants were introduced to various aspects of bird migration and the techniques of bird ringing and satellite tracking. The camp helps bird-watching enthusiasts in identifying migratory birds, and gain hands-on experience in handling and ringing birds. He said the aim of the camp was to create a network of amateur birdwatchers from different walks of life to generate data on migratory birds and their conservation.