Flocking to bird paradise

The second edition of the international UP Bird festival (UPBF), 2016 held between December 2 and December 4 was organised by Akhliesh Yadav-led UP government, the state forest department, UP Eco Tourism and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI.)

The festival which was held at Chambal Safari located in Bah, 80 kms from Agra, UP also promoted it as an ornithologist’s paradise and to boost the state’s ecotourism. Home to birds such as the Brown Hawk Owl, Sarus Cranes, the Black Bellied Tern and Indian skimmers, the sanctuary which is watered by the Chambal also supports the largest population of fresh water crocodile — gharials.

“This is the only bird festival in Asia. It has majorly helped create awareness on the conservation of natural habitats all across the country. It is a great initiative,” said, Nikhil Devasar, founder of the Delhi Bird Group and organiser, UPBF.  

“The festival brings together bird lovers from everywhere. This helps in spreading the word that it has a massive outreach, a crucial step in the conservation of birds for it is still a lesser known phenomenon in comparison to other wildlife species such as tigers or lions,” said, Dr Surya Prakash, professor of zoology,  Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and a bird  watcher for over 30 years.  

“The Tern needs extremely clean water to survive which is why they are seen at the Chambal river is clean. The number of bird and animal species it supports, is symbolic of a healthy eco system,” he said. Another vulnerable bird, people come down to spot is the Indian skimmer — found mostly in India, Bangladesh, Combodia, Myanmar and Pakistan. “India holds the only known remaining breeding grounds for Skimmers, found in Chambal. The bird is rare and vulnerable with its population declining because of loss of nesting area. Festivals such as these help build community support and create awareness and involvement in saving the nesting areas for the bird to breed and flourish,” said, Panchami Ukli, founder of The Bhubhneshwar Bird Walks and a participant, as she presented her work on saving the Skimmers in Orissa along with the state government.

The festival is also significant for tagging of the local and migratory birds here. Dr S Balachandran of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), an expert in the fair, said, as he ringed a yellow River Lapwing, “Ringing is an important exercise for studying birds and data keeping. I have ringed 30 birds so far at the festival. At last year’s fest, I tagged around 70 birds of which two I found here again this time.”

Delhi-based Bikram Grewal, bird author, believed it was one of its kind initiative but how much of it translates into conservation is yet to be seen. “At last year’s fest an MoU was signed for conserving the Skimmers, but nothing concrete has come out of it yet. During the three days, we could not spot any Skimmers ideally found here. More efforts are needed in this direction,” he said.