Organised by Deccan Birders, The Yuhina Canopy, and Birds of India, the race began around 6 am at Begumpet
HYDERABAD: The 17th Wings Bird Race attracted 40 persons, including nine young birders, reflecting the growing interest in birdwatching. A rare sighting of the Malabar whistling thrush added excitement to the event.
Organised by Deccan Birders, The Yuhina Canopy, and Birds of India, the race began around 6 am at Begumpet. Incidentally, the event was held on the eve of Monday’s World Wildlife Day celebrations.
The teams went to different birding spots in and around the city with binoculars and field guides to spot and record the maximum birds that they could before returning in the evening.
This year's winners were the youngest participants, Team Hawks, a group of kids including Rishi Reddy Kalliath, Sejal, Samyutha Kalidindi, Adya Chandrashekar, and Akash Nagururu.
Dr Karthikeyan Vasudevan, chief scientist at CCMB, has been been attending these events for several years as a life member of Deccan Birders. “It’s great to see people of all ages, kids, school teams, and senior citizens participating with equal enthusiasm,” Dr Vasudevan told Deccan Chronicle.
“Children spotted over 100 birds today, which shows that Hyderabad has both a rich bird population and young nature enthusiasts,” he said.
The Hyderabad Bird Race is part of a nationwide initiative started by Sunjoy Monga in Mumbai that has expanded into several cities.
“This is my second time at the bird race, although I have been birdwatching for around six years now. I hoped to see more birds, but we couldn’t cover too many places. Still, it felt wonderful to spot around 93 species,” said a fully ecstatic 12-year-old Rishi Reddy.
Akash N., 11, was thrilled after his first birdwatching experience.
“It was real fun! My favourite bird is the Malabar whistling thrush. It has blue wings, a black body, and a bright blue forehead,” he shared excitedly.
Geetanjali Ramachandra, a participant, spoke about the challenges faced during the event. “The bird race was excellent, but we only spotted 83 birds. The total list had 200 species, but we didn’t go to the forest this time.”
The closing ceremony included speeches from experts. The bird race was judged by well-known birding experts Humayun Taher and Anita Negi.
Dr Vasudevan spoke about the importance of wildlife conservation.
