June brings hope and anticipation of rains—a relief from the sweltering heat. Calls of our resident and migratory cuckoos such as the Asian Koel, Common Hawk-cuckoo, Pied Cuckoo, can be heard in early mornings and late evenings. However, they become extremely vocal during the rainy season.
We may be confined to a single location, yet this provides many opportunities to observe the birds in our immediate vicinity. Common birds such as Oriental Magpie Robin, Indian White-eye, Black Drongo, will be busy finding mates, building nests, and feeding young. The eBird challenge for June is to upload at least 30 lists from the same single location. Each list should be a complete list of at least 15 mins duration with no ‘X’s.
(Explore Birds of the World to know all about the life history of birds. To get access just log in to your existing eBird/Cornell account).
Although not part of this month’s challenge, do consider adding sounds, photos, and behavioural comments. Also, if you see any breeding behaviours – select the relevant breeding and behaviour codes. This helps in understanding the breeding ecology of birds across our Indian subcontinent, which otherwise is poorly documented.
While birding, please ensure that you adhere to COVID-19 related instructions by central and local authorities.
Please upload all your lists by 10 July 2021 so that we can announce the results soon after that. Here are the general rules of our monthly challenges. And check out the yearlong challenges for 2021 as well! You can keep track of fresh lists coming in from India on this page.
Header Image: Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus by Shivam Tiwari / Macaulay Library
It’s amazing!!! Looking forward to participate.
Good ideas and keep engaging in birding and share the joy of exploring the world of birds.