Join us to observe and study the passage migrant birds of Kachchh

22 to 24 September, 2023

Passage Migrant Count is a citizen science initiative organized in collaboration with Bird Conservation Society Gujarat (BCSG). This unique event was first conducted in September 2022. You can view the report here.

Where: Kachchh District of Gujarat

When: September 22-24, 2023 (partially funded)

What: Every year, India plays host to a special group of birds called passage migrants. Such birds neither visit during the summer nor the winter, but instead pass through India during autumn and spring while migrating from their breeding grounds in Central and East Asia to their wintering grounds in Africa. Gujarat and Rajasthan are hubs of passage migration with potentially tens of thousands of birds passing through from August to October to capitalize on available food in a landscape that’s lush and full of insects after the rains. But how many birds actually pass through? We have no idea!

The most important place for passage migration in India is Kachchh in Gujarat, perhaps due to its proximity to the African continent and its diversity of habitats. Over eight species of passage migrants move through Kachchh including European Roller, Red-backed and Red-tailed Shrike, Spotted Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin, Greater Whitethroat, Common Cuckoo and Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. Of these, the Roller, Cuckoo and Bee-eater also have breeding populations within India but are largely passage migrants in Kachchh. During autumn, Kachchh therefore figures high on every birdwatcher’s wishlist!

A complete checklist during passage migration might look like this 🙂

Why: Indian birdwatchers and scientists have long focused on counting numbers of winter migrants (Asian Waterbird Census), but have largely overlooked passage migrants. One reason may be that we often think of India as being of conservation importance for many species of winter visitors, but not for passage migrants. Stopovers in Kachchh may however be very important for the survival of passage migrants! We therefore need to understand how many individuals of the different species move through Kachchh every year, and monitor these numbers to inform conservation if required. Currently, if we are to ask ourselves how many Spotted Flycatchers visit Kachchh every year, I don’t think we would have an answer.

In the long-term, this initiative will be repeated on all weekends in September (although it is confined to one coordinated weekend this first time) so that we can cover the entire period of passage migration.

Registration: Register using this form. Do note that there is a Rs. 1500 registration fee for the event that will help partially support the initiative. We welcome participation from everyone, so please contact us if you cannot afford the registration fee.

How: Survey protocols and detailed instructions will be shared with all participants through an instruction document before the pre-survey webinar (date to be decided).

Preparation for the survey: Please spend some time learning how to identify the focal passage migrants. Some species are best identified by call so familiarize yourselves with the calls of Spotted Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin, Greater Whitethroat and Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. Shrikes are very difficult to identify, because some plumages of Bay-backed, Long-tailed, Great Grey, Isabelline, Brown, Red-backed and Red-tailed Shrike can seem similar. Remember that Bay-backed and Isabelline Shrike are by far the most common Shrikes in Kachchh so while learning how to ID shrikes, ask yourself the question – “Why is this not a Bay-backed or Isabelline Shrike?” before moving to any other species. Check out images of each species uploaded on eBird to learn more. We strongly recommend the use of “Shrike sp.” on eBird when not sure about ID.

Survey checklists are to be uploaded on eBird, and shared with the “bcsgbirdcount” eBird ID. During the survey, we strongly recommend that you report all species in each checklist, not just the passage migrants – if you include all species in a checklist, mark it as ‘complete’, otherwise mark it as ‘incomplete’.

In addition to the eight mentioned passage migrants, keep an eye out for other exciting (potential) passage migrants such as European Nightjar, Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush, Eurasian Scops Owl, Marbled Teal and various shorebirds! You may be going to some remote locations so also look out for rarities such as Sind Woodpecker and Sind Sparrow. You may also stumble upon some desert specialists such as Greater Hoopoe-Lark and get a chance to have some insights into their life histories.

This initiative can be a success only with the wholehearted participation of all birdwatchers from Gujarat. But participants from other states are also welcome! Covering the vast area is a herculean task. Considering financial constraints, use of own vehicle by participants is encouraged, though not mandatory. Anyone willing to donate for the event may do so using the details provided in the registration form.