Celebrating the ‘National Wildlife Week’, avid bird-watchers and nature-lovers organized fascinating ‘bird walks’ in Gobuk, Arunachal, Shirgao, Goa, Mysuru, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. As a ‘walker’ from Goa said, ‘Unbelievable and absolutely mesmerising variety of birds and other creatures — thank you so much for showing us this — treasures revealed in our everyday landscape!’
Early Bird and Ataavi Bird Foundation, along with partner organizations, organised bird walks in Delhi, Kolkata, Mysuru, Mumbai, Shirgao (Goa) and Gobuk (Arunachal Pradesh), of which five happened on October 6, 2024, early in the morning. The sixth walk happened on October 8, at Gobuk, Arunachal.
The walks were designed for children aged 9-13 and were led by naturalists. These walks were organized to celebrate the ‘National Wildlife Week’, which is observed every year from October 2 to 8.
The walk at Bhandup Pumping Station, Mumbai, provided participants with a diverse array of sightings, including a pair of Indian Golden Orioles, a Black Kite with nesting material, and a courtship display by purple-rumped Sunbirds. Participants also engaged in a ‘nature journaling’ activity, sketching local flora and fauna. The walk, led by Anand Pendharkar, Nikhil Disoria and Urmila Sampath, was organized in collaboration with SPROUTS.
Before the walk began at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park, New Delhi, Misha Bansal and Karnika Palwa gave participants an introduction to the region’s history and geological features. The walk began with observing several trees whose leaves were eaten by caterpillars, and also several leaves being rolled up by pupating caterpillars. The children expressed their enthusiasm and wonder as they explored their surroundings through ‘nature journaling’ activity.
Kukkarahalli Kere, Mysuru, offered a memorable experience, with a family of white-breasted Waterhens and their young chicks stealing the show. A thrilling moment occurred when a Shikra attempted to attack the chicks, but they managed to escape.
Participants also enjoyed the ‘Bird Survivor Game’, which provided insights into a bird’s life-cycle and survival challenges. Sukhprit Kaur and Saptha Girish from Aranya Outreach led the walk.
The introduction segment of Goa’s Shirgao Creek walk was unexpectedly interrupted by an aggressive and animated fight between two Muggers, captivating the participants. As the walk concluded, they witnessed Bulbul parents feeding their hungry young.
The ‘Bird Bingo’ game proved to be a valuable tool to guide children towards bird behaviour, who made detailed observations. Another highlight of the walk was a sighting of the Great Hornbill. This walk was led by Snigdha Sehgal, Colin Braganza and Vedang Saunt, in collaboration with The Learning Forest and SOYMGOA.
Despite a cloudy start for the walk at Banabitan, Kolkata, the weather cleared up, allowing participants to enjoy the sights of birds. Spotting scopes were used to provide close-up views of various bird species, including Spotted Owlets and three different types of Barbets. This walk was a collaborative effort with the Birdwatchers’ Society, Kolkata.
In the words of participants
I’m a home-schooler and this session not only helped me with my Nature Study module but also in Art and English language skills.
Mumbai Walk Participant
The facilitators showed us with great care and enthusiasm, birds and butterflies around. I feel enriched.
Kolkata Walk Participant
It was an amazing session. We all enjoyed it. Thank you for this wonderful time… looking forward to more…
Mysuru Walk Participant
I enjoyed journaling, nature observation and seeing birds through spotting scope
Delhi Walk Participant
Unbelievable and absolutely mesmerising variety of birds and other creatures — thank you so much for showing us this — treasures revealed in our everyday landscape!
Parent of a Goa Walk Participant
Early Bird is a learning programme that brings children closer to birds, ecology and nature. The programme has impacted more than three lakh children in its 10-year existence. This is through the distribution of innovative educational materials on Indian birds, available in 10 Indian languages, besides English.
Early Bird is a part of the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), a 28-year-old public charitable trust set up to contribute to the knowledge and conservation of India’s unique wildlife heritage.
ATAAVI Bird Foundation, established in June 2024, is committed to conserving India’s rich avian diversity through focused efforts in education and outreach. The foundation is supported by Zycus Infotech and was founded by Aatish Dedhia and Alpa Dedhia, who are now devoted to promoting bird- watching and conserving India’s avian heritage.
The Birdwatchers’ Society has been formed to study, observe, record and archive all aspects of birds, especially in West Bengal. Its main activities are Monthly Bird Walks, Bird Talks through Seminars, Educating Children via the School of Birds’ Programme, and Field Camps to educate the members.
It also participates in Annual Winter Waterfowl Counts, GBBC (Great Backyard Bird Count), Dawn Chorus, and Poila Baishak Bird Count, PBBC.
SPROUTS is a 30-year-old Conservation Organization working to protect nature and biodiversity in urban, rural and tribal areas of the world. They regularly organize camps, nature trails and treks to various national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, farms, lakes and even zoos, which they consider to be important centres of ex-situ conservation via conservation-breeding. They are also involved in research, outreach, education and active conservation, and have many publications and ICT materials.
The GreenHub Project was founded in Northeast India in 2014 by Dusty Foot Founder, Rita Banerji, in collaboration with the Northeast Network (NEN), as the local partner. The project was the first in India to engage and empower youth, especially from remote areas and marginalized communities in conservation action and social change by using the visual medium.
Aranya Outreach is a Mysuru-based Trust, which engages ‘learning through nature’ in a meaningful way and through a variety of learning experiences. Bird walks, awareness campaigns and community outreach are some of their engagements.
Contact Information
Amruta Padgaonkar (Senior Project Assistant, Early Bird, Nature Conservation Foundation) | +91 8097572965 | amrutap@ncf-india.org
City Coordinators
Bharatendra Singh Parihar (Kolkata) | birdwatcherssocietywb@gmail.com | +91 9903850402
Joyshree Gogoi (Gobuk, Yingkiong) | joyshreegogoi6051@gmail.com | +91 9365314039
Misha Bansal (New Delhi) | mishabansal30@gmail.com | +91 9654479209
Sukhprit Kaur (Mysuru) | sukhpritkaur@gmail.com | +91 9902001100
Snigdha Sehgal (Shirgao, Goa) | snigdhasehgal@gmail.com | +91 9899303994
Anand Pendharkar (Mumbai) | sproutsonline@gmail.com | +91 9820140254
Great work!