For the fifth year in succession, a one day workshop on Bird Monitoring in Kerala was held at the Centre for Wildlife Studies, College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur on 10 June 2018. About 70 birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts, representing various organisations in Kerala participated in the workshop. Participants represented Cochin Natural History Society (CNHS), Malabar Natural History Society (MNHS), World Wide Fund for Nature – Kerala (WWF), Bird Count India, Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), KeralaBirder, Birdwatchers of Kerala, Hume’s Centre for Ecology & Wildlife Biology, College of Forestry, Kole Birders, Alappuzha Natural History Society, Kottayam Nature Society, Birders Ezhupunna and several Whatsapp groups. Discussions were centred around execution of the Kerala Bird Atlas and other monitoring activities.
Agenda
| 09:00-09:30 | 30 | Introductions, Agenda Review, Review of 2017 Minutes |
| 09:30-09:45 | 15 | Kerala Bird Atlas: Recap and Results Overview |
| 09:45-10:15 | 30 | Kasaragod Bird Atlas: Results, Learnings & Concerns |
| 10:15-10:30 | 15 | Kozhikode Atlas Experience |
| 10:30-10:45 | 15 | Wayanad Atlas Experience |
| 10.45-11.00 | 15 | Tea Break |
| 11:00-13:00 | 120 | eBird Concerns and Clarifications |
| 13:00-14:00 | 60 | Lunch Break |
| 14:00-14:45 | 45 | Kerala Bird Atlas: Atlas Experience (MA, PL, ER & ID, KT, PH, KL, TV) |
| 14:45-15:15 | 30 | Kerala Bird Atlas: Plan for 2017-18 |
| 15:15-15:35 | 30 | GBBC, OBC, EBD |
| 15:35-15:50 | 15 | Tea Break |
| 15.50-16:50 | 60 | Beyond Atlas: Long-term Monitoring Strategies |
| 16.50-17:00 | 10 | AOB |
Executive Summary
- Bird atlas surveys nearly completed for six districts. Barring Idukki and Kollam districts, majority of the subcells of the remaining districts have also been completed. Project on track.
- Kasaragod Bird Atlas surveys 100% completed – bird atlas book being prepared to be released.
- Kozhikode Bird Atlas surveys nearly completed with just one sub-cell pending for the wet season.
- Wayanad Bird Atlas surveys completed but data entry pending.
- Clarification on various aspects of eBird and bird atlas including – licences, commercial usage, sensitive species, legal opinion, government opinion, international agreements, atlas protocol, acceptance by forest departments, funding etc. provided.
- Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) / Onam Bird Count (OBC) / Endemic Bird Day (EBD) continue to recruit more birders. Results in 2017-18 slightly different from other years due to dominance of surveys in more wooded districts.
- Intention to release posters of birds found in Grama Panchayat across Kerala announced.
- Several representations for long-term monitoring programmes received from bird-watchers across Kerala.
Key Decisions
- Birders from the districts that have completed atlas have to help other districts to complete their surveys.
- Idukki district non-forests to be divided amongst other districts to be covered as several organised surveys, each survey with multiple teams (like any other forest survey)
- Continue pursuing birding outreach actively during public events like CBMP & OBC.
- Design specific long-term monitoring strategies for interested bird-watchers based on their region, habitats, commitments and networks.
Presentations
- Kerala Bird Atlas- Recap & Results Praveen J
- Kasaragod Bird Atlas Overview: 2017-2018 Maxim Rodrigues & Prasanth Krishna
- Great Backyard Bird Count, Onam Bird Count and Endemic Bird day in Kerala Syamili Manoj & E.R. Sreekumar
- Long Term Bird Monitoring Suhel Quader
See details of the 2017 Workshop.
See details of the 2016 Workshop.
