An Evening for a Bird- Webinar Series by Bhutan Birdlife Society (BBLS)
I was invited for a talk on my new bird species record to Bhutan by Bhutan Birdlife Society (BBLS) that was scheduled on 18th March, 2022 evening 6:30 to 7:30 pm BST. The Webinar Series- An Evening for a Bird was initiated by BBLS to exchange knowledge and information among the members about the birdlife in Bhutan. It is to promote citizen-science and environmental stewardship of the members through networking and friendship. The platform was conceived by the core members in 2020.
It was an honor for me to be the
first Guest Speaker of the Webinar Series hosted by BBLS. I was excited and
nervous at the same to share my story. The patron of BBLS Dasho Benji graced
the Webinar. The Webinar went well with much appreciation from Chairperson, the
members and the participants.
The BBLS Project Manager, Mr.
Yeshey Dorji welcomed all the members and the participants for this first ever
Webinar Series Talk followed by the facilitator, Mr. Tshering Phuntsho on the
background of this very concept of the Webinar and also introducing the
speakers. Dasho Benji gave an opening remarks to all the participants and was
really touched by the passion of young birders for conservation.
After the opening remarks, the
facilitator handed over me the screen. I thanked him and wished Patron,
Chairperson, BBLS members and the participants a very good evening. I also
thanked Bhutan Birdlife Society for inviting me for the first Webinar Talk
among other talented birders and the experts in the group.
My
Introduction
I introduced myself to the audience. I am Purna Bahadur Rai. I have a B.Tech Mining degree from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, Orrisa, India and by profession I am a Mining Engineer. I have been birding for the last five years now. My favorite bird is Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria). This bird species has close habitat association with my work place as it is the winter visitor to my mining site. The mining has positive impact on habit creation for this species among others who love to forage in the open dry and degraded areas unlike other species. Thus, this is a significance of this bird to my profession. My total bird count so far is 240 species which I have the photographic record shots of each species. My talk was on the new bird record to Bhutan which I first sighted on 19th May, 2021 in my residential area at Nyoenpaling (Pugli-B) under Phuntshopelri Gewog, Samtse.
My
Personal Journey in Birding
I shared my personal journey to
the audience before my main talk. I started birding five years ago (2017) when
my cousin (Mr. Sancha Rai~Teacher) introduced me to the Birds of Bhutan (BoB)
Facebook page group. Since then, I kept posting my record to Birds of Bhutan
group and in 2019, we published a short article of my favorite bird Wallcreeper
in our (PCAL) annual newsletter. The BoB members and birders were impressed
with my passion and interest in birding. My friend Tashi Tshering, a Sr.Forest
Ranger gave me a courtesy call and invited me to join the Dragon Birding Amigos
(DBA), an avid birders group of Samtse.
Thus, joining DBA was a great
journey and there after we went birding in group hunting some rarely found
species like Hooded Pitta (Pitta sordida) in Kalapani areas,
Phuntshopelri, Samtse. The rediscovery of Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter
nisus) from Noyenpaling (Pugli-B), Phuntshoeplri after one and half decade
was astonishing. The earlier record was by P. Spierenburg in 2005 from Samtse. The
publication of a book-A Guide to the Birds of Samtse 1st edition was
another big achievement for DBA team in 2020.
The year 2021 was more fruitful for my birding journey despite pandemic and a dream come true moment to add a new bird species to Bhutan. It was a Black-headed Cuckooshrike (Lalage melanoptera) which I recorded from Nyoenpaling (Pugli B), Phuntshopelri, Samtse on 19th May, 2021. It was during the lockdown period that I heard a unique bird call in my kitchen garden. I scanned for two days and on the third day I was fortunate to take a record shot. I shared to my amigos and BBLS members. They confirmed it as new record to Bhutan. Other species like Dark-sided Thrush (Zoothera marginata) from Pendenling (Gomtu) which is also a third record to Bhutan as per the experts and Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) are new to Samtse birds’ list. We also presented a paper on Samtse’s Song Birds (An Annotated Bird Checklist for the Selected Regions of Samtse recorded between 1 September and 31 December 2020) to Bhutan Ecological Society (BES). The year was fulfilling amid the pandemic.
Dragon Birding
Amigos (DBA) Team
We are an avid birder from Samtse and Thimphu from diverse
backgrounds but with same passion in birding and conservation. We are a teacher
not just in four walled classrooms but in the wild with nature. We are a
forester not just in dress but in the field of action for nature. We are a
financial manager not just a broker but who invest in nature conservation. We
are a nature guide not just for the tourist but for all the nature lovers. We
are an office assistant not just in office but assisting the team of conservationist.
We are an engineer not just only for the humans’ infrastructure development but
for the balanced eco system. We are Dragon Birding Amigos (DBA).
Black-headed
Cuckooshrike (Lalage melanoptera)-New record to Bhutan.
Identification:
The Black-headed Cuckooshrike has a dark slaty-grey head, neck and upper breast. It has pale grey body and wings are darker grey than the mantle with white belly. It is a medium sized Cuckooshrike measuring 18 to 20 cm in length and weighing 25 to 35 gram (Birds of India). The female lacks the black hood and has a whitish supercilium, brownish gray upperparts with lightly barred back and rump. It has buff-white underparts with wide brown bars. The juvenile and immature is similar to female with an upperparts barred white (ebird.org).
Distribution:
This species is distributed in
the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia (Wikipedia, 2021). The closest
record of this bird to Bhutan is from Darjelling (27.1N, 88.7E) and Puruliya
& Bankura (23.3N, 86.0E) in West Bengal, India in 2015 and 2019 respectively
(eBird Observation Dataset (n.d)).
It breeds in Northern India (in
Punjab and Uttar Pradesh) and Myanmar (avibase, n.d.). It is a migratory bird
in Assam. It habitats mostly in light deciduous forests and open broadleaved
secondary growth forests in the plains and hills up to 2,000 masl (India
Biodiversity Portland, n.d.). This means we can expect this species in higher
regions of our country not just in southern belt of Bhutan. The study claims
that the lowlands birds are moving upwards in the highlands. (How new bird
species arise-https://phys.org/news/2022). Thus, one should not be surprised to
see this species in Thimphu or other regions of the country in future.
Its status as per the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is Least Concern. It has
a stable population as per BirdLife International 2017 and has no population
surveyed carried out yet. This species mainly feeds on insects, moths,
caterpillars, cicadas, butterflies, crickets, beetles, grasshoppers and they
occasionally feed on fruits, figs and berries (https://indianbirds.thedynamicnature.com/).
Location:
This species is first recorded in Bhutan from PCAL, Pugli colony, Nyoenpaling (Pugli-B) under Phuntshopelri Gewog in Samtse. The geo-coordinates of the area is 26°49'26.68"N, 89°13'33.35"E. The Nyoepnaling (Pugli-B) is located at an elevation of about 405 masl. The record shot was taken on 19th May, 2021 during the lockdown period. I was in kitchen garden when I heard its call two days before the record shot. I was scanning the area for the new call and on third day, I could finally photograph the bird on a teak tree top. Thus, a mining engineer landed up discovering new bird record to Bhutan instead of stone or minerals. That doesn’t mean that I am not carrying out my entrusted job but I explore both in the field.
Challenges
in Conservation of the Birds Species
Watching birds is a beautiful
journey but there are challenges on the way in its conservation. We human have
become so selfish that we are taking away more space than what we actually
need. We are moving from survival to the path of extinction sooner or later in
the name of comfort and modern development. Our very own infrastructure
developments like roads, dams, power lines, buildings, etc are direct or
indirect threat to the birds/avifauna and other living being on this only
planet Earth.
Similarly, the extractive industries like mining/quarrying, dredging, deforestation, sand extraction and expansion of agriculture are the areas where we need to develop in unity without having to comprise the lives of flora and fauna. The forest fires are another reckless human error and sometimes even intentional for fodder grasses. We can minimize all these threats and practice eco-friendly activities with the passionate heart of belongingness for every lives on this Earth.
Conservation
Efforts by Mining Personnel and Companies or Industries
As a mining professional I ought
to protect the environment as much as I exploit. It is the mandate of the
mining companies to reclaim the mining site to its near natural state into
vegetation if not at all to the landscape of its initial virginity. We try to
bring back its former glory by reclaiming the mined out areas so that the flora
and fauna can once more thrive in its kingdom.
For example, the above
artificial vernal pool we created in one of the reclaimed Mines in
Phuntshopelri, Samtse is attracting birds and wild animals. The Dusky Thrush
which is new record to Samtse was recorded by the side of this vernal pool. Likewise,
we choose the plant species which attracts birds with its flowers and fruits
just in the pictures above. The Ficus religiosa or pipal tree grows in a
degraded area and its fruits are diets for many birds. The next tree species we
have planted is the Coral tree/ Erythrina is a fast growing species in this
region and its flowers attracts various birds’ species as in the picture above.
This is how the miners and the mining companies take care of the environment around and always have a heart in action for conservation. We try our best to practice eco-friendly mining right from operation to end of mine life to restore it and give it back to the nature.
Conclusion
To conclude, I would like to
urge all the young minds let’s not leave the conservation works to only those
are paid for it. It is our moral and social responsibility as a human being on
this planet to conserve the nature. Our common goal and objective is to live
healthy and share this only green planet Earth with other species. Our
coexistence and interdependence with other species is the law of nature and we
can’t deny it. It is our universal religion of life on Earth.
Any one of us irrespective of
our background can be a conservationist or environmentalist in our own small
way. From farmers to doctors to engineers, we can showcase the conservation
efforts from our fields for nature. The industries and companies does practice
eco-friendly operation but without an active employee or the leader with nature
loving heart, the environmental mandates may be compromised.
The awareness and implementation
of conservation for balanced eco-system will naturally start when we have
people in the industries or organizations with passion in birding or conservation
acts. The industries and institutions ought to play proactive roles in
conservation than the conservation organizations in reality. Our developmental
activities are to be aligned with the philosophy of Gross National Happiness
(GNH). The Conservation of Nature is the strongest pillar among four of them
for us. We must be a responsible citizen of a Carbon Neutral Nation in the
world.
The very foundation of Bhutan
Birdlife Society (BBLS) is based on the three principles (Birding, Passion and
Conservation) I have highlighted. The founders and the members are from
different background but with the same passion in birding and towards its
conservation works. When we put passion in our works, the magic begins there.
Be it small or insignificance, it makes greater sense. This is the very reason
that BBLS could emerge to its stage within a short period of time from owning an
authentic data collection app-Epicollect5 to launching a monthly journal to its
own website.
This is the message I wanted to
share with you all and thank you so much for listening to my story. A story of
a Miner.
Q&A
Q: How do you manage your work
time and birding? What is the frequency of birding per week?
A: Birding
is not about tight scheduled activities. You can watch bird anytime of the day
you want whether you are working or travelling. For example, we can watch birds
from the room through the doors and windows. In fact, I started birding from my
kitchen simultaneously cooking my meals. I watch them when I go to my work site
at Mines and click them through my moving car way back to home from office. I
do it in weekends. Thus, it gets managed naturally. I didn’t go looking for the
Black-headed Cuckooshrike in the forest but it came to my garden. You just have
to be alert and be cautious.
Q: How
does mining benefit the habit restoration of some birds’ species?
A: As I
have shared earlier, some birds’ species like Wallcreeper, Wagtails, Thrush,
Redstarts, Pipit, Nightjars, etc habitats mostly in open and degraded areas
like mining sites. The mining areas often becomes their feeding grounds and
habitats for such species. When we talk about mining, all the areas won’t be desert
dry. Except in the active mining benches or areas, the other adjoining spaces
would be with some bushes and growing stages. We take progressive restoration
of the abandoned areas or mined our areas as scientific mining approach. This
is what we called it eco-friendly mining.
Q: Which
guide book and bird identification app would you recommend for a beginner
birder?
A: I may
not give you the right answers for this questions as I have never used one
properly. I am using one filed guide book by Bikram Grewal & Garima Bhatia,
A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of India- (Paistan, Nepal, Bhutan & Sri
Lanka). However, the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett,
Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp would be best as many birders use this for ID and
as a field guide book. While, on the app part I am not sure but you can try Merlin
Bird ID by Cornell Lab. However, field guide book and experts would be better
for any ID confirmation.
A Webinar Video for those who have missed the live!
Find the Webinar Link here!https://youtu.be/b0pVKj7MpM4
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