Birder Profile is a monthly series from Bird Count India, where we connect with bird enthusiasts from across the country.
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself. What do you do and where do you live?
I am Samakshi Tiwari from Rajasthan. I started my formal research journey by studying birds in urban green spaces in Dehradun. After that, I worked with the Black Kite project for a short while and then joined the Reintroduction of Cheer Pheasants Program in Himachal Pradesh in 2019, where I worked for a couple of years.
Currently, I am working as a research fellow and consultant on the Mangrove Monitoring in India project (under CIFOR-ICRAF). My field sites are mangrove patches along the Indian coast. When I’m not in the field, I work remotely from my home in Ajmer.
2. When and how did you get interested in birding?
I always had an inclination towards photography, specifically bird photography. I remember when my parents bought a digital camera for the first time. I was in seventh grade. I would stand on my balcony and photograph White-throated Kingfishers and Baya Weavers the entire day. Later, in college, I started doing a lot of photography and eventually became interested in research, wanting to observe and document birds in a more serious and scientific manner.
3. Do you have a favourite bird or birds? Why is it/are they your favourite?
I don’t know, the Oriental Pied Hornbill, Long-eared Owl, Cheer Pheasant… can’t decide. This keeps changing. Currently, I have been a little obsessed with Red-headed Vultures for some reason. I find the shape of their beaks and their coloration very fascinating and unique, as if the bird is otherworldly.
4. Do you have a birding partner or a group you enjoy birding with? How is birding alone different from birding with others?
I have had very mixed experiences birding in groups; it completely depends on the people I am with. Some enjoy teaching and showing birds, and I enjoy these kinds of groups. However, when I started birding and joined groups, I sometimes felt overwhelmed by the pace at which others could identify birds. I would occasionally feel embarrassed by my lack of identification skills. I also feel that some people have a dislike for those carrying a camera, which I almost always did and still do.
I also appreciate birding in groups with diverse backgrounds—people who discuss and identify not only birds but also butterflies, insects, and plants, among others.
I feel that I have grown the most when birding alone in Himachal Pradesh, especially during the lockdown period. I used to bird at a leisurely pace, spend a lot of time recording calls, taking photographs, and was not fixated on making lists with many species.
5. What is your most memorable birding experience?
One particularly memorable experience was the first time I heard a Himalayan Griffon vocalize. I was heading towards my workstation, and while Himalayan Griffons were common in the area, I’d only heard them calling near cattle carcasses. Suddenly, I heard a very different type of vocalization almost 10 meters above me. It took a few seconds to spot the bird making the call (see below: best heard at 0:37 seconds). The echo of that call still lingers in my ears even now.
6. Anything on the birding bucket list? (Doesn’t have to be a bird, could be a place, witnessing a phenomena, etc)
I have yet to see flamingos. I want to witness huge flocks of flamingos taking flight and landing, making the entire landscape into a breathtaking sea of pink.
7. Which of the two do you enjoy more and why: a) regular birding around your house/local patch/district, or b) widespread birding in different landscapes across different districts and states?
Regular birding, especially throughout the seasons, gives me immense satisfaction. I enjoy observing the changes in bird vocalizations and the arrival and departure of species. I always look forward to each new season to discover birds I didn’t see the previous winter or summer.
8. How has your approach to birding changed over the years? (optional)
I now try to enjoy birding more at my own pace rather than focusing on seeing as many species as possible. Sometimes, when I don’t have the time to bird properly or upload complete checklists, I break my observations into incomplete or incidental checklists. Previously, I mostly uploaded only complete checklists.
9. Have you set any birding goals for the coming months?
Nothing too particular. I feel like I have not done as much birdwatching as I would have liked in the past few months, so will try to bird regularly.
Header Image: Long-eared Owl Asio otus © Sandip Das/ Macaulay Library
