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 a digital illustrator in the field of nature and wildlife conservation, aka science communication illustrator. I spent most of my years in peninsular India, but I have been based in Udaipur, Rajasthan, for almost three years now.
2. When and how did you get interested in birding?
I tried birding for the first time with the Manipal Birders Club in Manipal, Karnataka, during my first year of college. However, I only began to truly enjoy birding after returning to Manipal from a one-month stay at the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS), deep in the rainforest wilderness. Birding became my way of coping with the longing to be back in the rainforest.
3. Do you have a favourite bird or birds? Why is it/are they your favourite?
I love each bird for its unique quirks—drongos for their call mimicking, babblers for their mischief, and the male Purple Sunbird for its insanely gorgeous blue iridescent plumage. As far as I know, it has no blue pigment; the tiny structures of the feathers refract light in a way that only blue is reflected back. The natural world is full of such incredible wonders, always offering more to question and more to learn.
4. Do you have a birding partner or a group you enjoy birding with? How is birding alone different from birding with others?
I am based in Udaipur, and I don’t see or know many people my age who are into birding. Female birders are especially rare. So, I created my own comfort zone of birders—I either go birding with my mom or my partner. Slowly, I’m also introducing new friends here to birding. Birding alone can be an intimate experience with nature, like standing beneath a tree and having a spotted owlet stare right into your eyes, tilting its head cutely to one side.
5. What is your most memorable birding experience?
One of my most memorable birding experiences was in Udaipur’s wilderness with my mom on her birthday. We watched five Indian White-eyes, one by one, flying and hopping under a thin stream of water flowing from a tap in a nursery to take a shower. Seeing my mom’s face light up with joy and laughter was priceless. We also spotted the migratory Red-breasted Flycatcher nearby for the first time, a bird we had missed at Bharatpur just weeks ago.
6. Anything on the birding bucket list? (Doesn’t have to be a bird, could be a place, witnessing a phenomena, etc)
Big owls continue to elude me. All I want is to see a big owl with my own eyes. I also hope to see a Great Indian Hornbill one day.
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
I love walking through different habitats, taking in the bugs, wildflowers, and trees; birds are an added bonus. Seeing the White capped redstart at Kasol, the Ultramarine flycatcher at Dharamkot and the Egyptian vulture at a lesser known tourist spot outside Udaipur have been my travel highlights.
My most surprising sighting occurred during a visit to a resort in the midst of Udaisagar, where I was co-facilitating an event. While watching wetland birds, the boat driver showed me a photo of a brown bird, and just minutes later, we spotted it perched on the roof of a passing boat. Something felt off—it looked like a pelagic bird, which didn’t make any sense. After returning that evening and digging through resources with help from friends, we identified it as a Brown Noddy, far, far from home (see checklist here).I still feel bad for it and hope it reunites with its kind someday.
8. How has your approach to birding changed over the years? (optional)
My approach to walking in nature has changed over the years. I’m no longer disappointed if I don’t spot birds or uncommon species. After reading The Overstory by Richard Powers, my perspective on trees, plants, and habitats has evolved.
9. Have you set any birding goals for the coming months?
Yes, my birding goal for the next year is to introduce birding to more people, preferably school or college-going young women. It’s going to be challenging to manage this alongside my work, but I am very excited.
Click here to see Swadha’s work on Instagram
Header Image: Brown Noddy Anous stolidus © Rajat Chordia/ Macaulay Library
