To honour the 'Bird Man of India', late Dr Salim Ali (1896-1987), BNHS is organizing the Salim Ali Bird Count across India to mark his birth anniversary.
After the success of last year's count, the date for this year's Bird Count was finalized for November 13 and it continues every year on the Sunday following November 12. This pan-India count is a day-long event open to everyone across the country, with only criteria for participation being one's interest in birds.
BNHS has invited all the bird watchers to participate in this event, simply by observing birds on the location of their choice and convenience, for a minimum of fifteen minutes and ideally over an hour. Lists of all species spotted (ideally with counts of individuals) can be submitted by filling count summary sheet which is available on www.bnhs.org and sent via email to our Research Assistant, Nandkishor Dudhe on n.dudhe@bnhs.org. Bird watchers can visit multiple locations during the day, but it is imperative to maintain separate bird lists (and count) for each location.
Count Summary Sheet is a pre-prepared excelsheet containing a checklist of birds found in India. Data collected by bird watchers through the day on the field must be entered in the count summary excel sheet and sent to BNHS. Participants can reach out to us on the below given contact numbers in case of any queries.
Deepak Apte, Director BNHS, notes, "Salim Ali Bird Count is a flagship programme of BNHS. We aim to take it to pan-India level and involve more people over the course of next few years by strengthening the Indian Bird Conservation Network." This yearly Count organized by BNHS presents bird watchers with a good opportunity to visit the Important Bird Areas (IBAs), protected areas or other community conserved wilderness around them. Over consecutive years, the Salim Ali Bird Count could become a means of monitoring the status of birds and their habitats if participants visit the same area every year. Bird conservation and natural history groups could also use this occasion to organize other events to popularize bird watching among the general public.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Bird-count-kicks-off-across-India/articleshow/55478101.cms