MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024
Ajit John
Today is National Bird Day, a day which is celebrated to raise awareness about the birds that are captured, brutally treated or produced in captivity for financial gain and pleasure. The condition of the birds is degrading due to manmade issues. The flying creature is losing their habitat and quality of life due to interference of humans in their habitat thereby disturbing the ecosystem.
Whether they are the Malabar Trogan or the common pigeons
that flock to and fro in the park, birds have always held a spot of
fascination, love, and adoration in our hearts. Unfortunately, most birds are
either endangered or protected, this is mostly due to habitat loss or illegal
pet trade.
Birds are often considered living links to the past, being
the closest-related animals to the evolution of dinosaurs. They’re often
keystone species in the ecosystems, signifiers of its health and vitality. For
example, the holes left behind by woodpeckers are often used as homes for a
large variety of other animals. That means if woodpeckers were to run out of a
food source – or out of the right kinds of trees – so, too, would all the
animals depend on their pecking skills. While National Bird Day may be
relatively new, having been founded in 2002, the adversity that birds have had
to face is nothing novel to the animal kingdom.
There are an estimated 10,000 species of birds in the world.
The bird population in Goa accounts for 35% of India's 1,224 bird species,
ranging from herons and kingfishers to cormorants and kites to name but a few.
Goa has a few passionate people who have dedicated their life to keeping a
track of these birds, raising awareness of the various species and yes trying
to protect them.
Prasanna Parab recently released a book titled ‘Forest Birds
of Goa’. He was more than willing to talk about his winged friends. He said the
migratory birds usually come to the wetlands and a few species can be found in
the forests. Prasanna said, “The number of birds in the state is reducing due
to climate change which is induced by the human factor. The rise in population,
a change in land use and an increase in pressure on natural resources would
inevitably cause this to happen. The drop is obvious.” He said most of the
migratory birds came in from North India and beyond. He said the birding season
would last between November and end by March. When the heat increases he said
they would fly out. He said a dip was very noticeable. He said 10 to 20 years
ago the Northern Pintails used to come in large numbers and they would be found
in the wetlands in Curtorim. In recent years he said any birdwatcher would tell
you it was nothing compared to what birdwatchers could see earlier.
Omkar Dharwadkar who is a guide and a wildlife photographer
for more than 10 years said one's luck in bird watching depended on the bird,
its habitat and the patience of the individual. He said if the habitat changes,
some birds would stop coming and other new species would turn up. The Red
whiskered Bulbul was the easiest bird to find in Goa since it was a resident in
the state. Omkar said in the ten years he has spent watching and photographing
birds, the species had changed due to the weather, habitat etc. He said if some
places were protected then change would not happen. The kind of species he said
varied from place to place. The number of people who were coming for Bird
watching, he said, had increased but the number of foreigners had decreased.
Domestic tourists, he said, wanted to see all the birds in this part of the
Western Ghats. He said a serious study needed to be done about the changes
taking place and its effects on the birds.
Ramesh Zarmekar who is a birding and wildlife guide with his
own travel company called Planet life Experiences said he was a guide for 12
years. He said, “Compared to a few years ago it is obvious the number of
species is reducing, bird sightings are less now. Migratory birds come at a
certain time, I work in the forest and it is obvious there are climate changes
taking place. The sightings in the forest have reduced though the numbers
remain good in the coastal areas. He said the situation was a mixed bag in the
state.
Another person who works in this space is Gajanan Shetye who
is a naturalist and works as a guide and photographer. He works all over Goa
and Maharashtra. The 27 year old has been doing this for 15 years. He said five
years ago, it was possible to see a good number of migratory birds but now it
is not like that. This he said was due to climate change, pollution and forest
cutting and the weather changing. He said it was possible to see a lot of
migratory birds from the Himalayas and the north east earlier but now the
weather has changed so much. Gajanan said, “It rained in Margoa on Wednesday
and now one can expect rains throughout the year. The bird comes from places
where the temperature drops to minus and Goa used to be a very welcome place
but now it is hotter and the rains make it very unwelcome”. People he said had
to learn to balance the temperature. People he said came to Goa to see the
Malabar Trogan which was the resident bird endemic to the Western Ghat. There
were 8 types of kingfishers in Goa with the Blue eared Kingfisher found easily.
People also came to see the Sri Lankan frog moth which was a nocturnal bird. He
said the number of species was increasing but the number of birds had
decreased. It was common to see 4 to 5 species but now it was possible to see
just 2 or 3.
It is obvious the situation was worrying and the authorities
have to take definite steps to stop it from going further downhill.
