Kerala Bird Monitoring Workshop June 2024

On 09 June 2024, a single day workshop on bird monitoring in Kerala was organised at the College of Climate Change and Environmental Science, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur. This is the ninth year of this physical workshop and was attended by over 100 birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts, representing various organisations in Kerala. Participants represented Cochin Natural History Society (CNHS), Malabar Natural History Society (MNHS), World Wide Fund for Nature – Kerala (WWF), Birdwatchers of Kerala, Kerala Natural History Society (KNHS), Hume’s Centre for Ecology & Wildlife Biology, College of Forestry, Kole Birders, Kottayam Nature Society , Natural History Society of Palakkad (NHSP), Kasaragod Birders, Kollam Birding Batallion, Malappuram Birders, Pathanamthitta Birders, Birders Thodupuzha, Malabar Awareness & Rescue Centre for Wildlife, Kerala Birders Club  as well as members from several Whatsapp groups and college students.

 

Discussions were on various topics, including how to:

1. Create non-overlapping planned activities without conflicts.
2. Scale new monitoring by planning at smaller scales and then expanding.
3. Balance between monitoring on exact dates and providing date flexibilities for each district.
4. Rejuvenate monitoring programs that have become less effective.
5. Use of social media and events to bring bird curious people into monitoring activities.

Key Decisions: Overall

• Ramsar Monitoring: Continue the Ramsar wetland monitoring and try to raise funds needed across the state through Hume’s Centre.
• Beach Combing: Reminders to be sent to district coordinators before the date of monitoring.
• Raptor Monitoring: A dedicated online meeting required to discuss issues related to sites, protocol, owners etc.
• Black Kite Monitoring: Finalise protocol and start immediately in two sites, one in each district, others can join if interested.
• Pelagic Surveys: Conduct at least one pelagic trip a year from each district.
• Open landscape Bird monitoring: Create a group, finalise a monitoring protocol, call for a meeting, and start monitoring.
• Heronry Monitoring: Use EpiCollect & eBird together for heronry monitoring, and hence have 2-pax teams. State coordinator to use data from EpiCollect as well. Call for an online meeting to discuss and conclude
• Heronry Monitoring: Encourage schools/college science clubs to monitor heronries inside their campuses as more intense monitoring can be done.
• Sky-island monitoring: Cover at least one sky-island in each district through targeted forest surveys.
• Bird Birding Events: Both events are great recruitment channels to our monitoring programs. Conduct a single big training session in each district with students/teachers (TVM model).
• Fund Raising: Existing registered organizations in KBM are encouraged to obtain 12A & 80G certificates to obtain more grants for bird monitoring
• Create a focus group for starting monthly bird challenges to promote general birding.
• Create a calendar of events for KBM to help district teams remember the dates for monitoring.
• Create a logo for KBM and ID cards for KBM members.
• Encourage all members of the KBM to repost the photographs and experiences of the workshop in a wider network and social media.

Minutes of the meeting

 

Presentations

• Ramsar Wetland Bird Monitoring
• Beach Combing
• Raptor Monitoring
• Heronry Monitoring (Coming soon)
• Forest Surveys
• Pelagic Surveys
• Kerala Redlist
• Hornbill Census
• Tern Identification
• Big Birding Events (Onam Bird Count & GBBC)
• Sky-island & Open Landscape monitoring
• Birds of Northeast India – for Kerala Birdwatchers (without images)

For past workshops, click on the year.

• 2023 Workshop
• 2022 Workshop
• 2019 Workshop
•  2018 Workshop
•  2017 Workshop
• 2016 Workshop
• 2015 Workshop
• 2014 Workshop

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Header Image: Lesser Coucal Centropus bengalensis Muhammed Rafi/ Macaulay Library