PANJIM: In a first of its kind initiative in India, the State is set to mark 2017 as ‘Goa Big Year’, a concept towards documentation and conservation of birds.
The Goa Bird Conservation Network (GBCN) has declared the ‘Goa Big Year 2017’ a year during which birders from the State and outside will observe, record and report on the number of bird species from January 1 till December 31.
“Big Year is a very famous concept, especially in North America, where birding is a craze. This has led to birds of their country being well documented with good information for making conservation plans,” GBCN President Parag Rangnekar said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said India has seen the likes of Noah Strycker from North America visiting India to bird watch and set a record of sighting 6042 of the 10,400 species in the world to our own fellow Indian Shashank Dalvi who set a record by sighting 1128 of the 1263 species reported from the country.
“This concept of sighting of maximum species in any calendar year within a specific political or geographical area is called a Big Year,” he added.
As per GBCN, Goa has 463 bird species and lot more to offer. “Some species records are very tough to evaluate without enough documentation and sometimes experts are needed to validate such sighting and hence the need for forming a rarities committee was felt,” Rangnekar said.
Explaining the concept, GBCN secretary Rajiv D’Silva said participants will have to visit various habitat types at different times of the year to record as many species as possible, but since it is a contest of sorts records of rare species will need supporting evidence in terms of photographs, recordings of the call/song or very good observational notes which will then be scrutinised by the Goa Rarities Committee.
Registrations for participating in the Goa Big Year are open till January 31.
“Competition apart, welfare of birds is top priority on our minds and hence, we have framed very strict guidelines and rules with detailed notes on ethics of bird watching which all participants have to agree to follow. Any breach in adhering to these rules will immediately disqualify them,” he added.
Goa Rarities Committee will have noted ornithologists and prolific birders Heinz Lainer, Qupeleio De Souza, Pankaj Lad amongst others.
