City’s bird lovers unite to create Hyderabad Bird Atlas

With the move, the birding communities here aim to systematically document the bird species in and around Hyderabad to create the Hyderabad Bird Atlas

Sangareddy: Bird lovers and birding communities in the city have united to create the first of its kind Hyderabad City Bird Atlas (HBA).

Coimbatore, Mysore and Pune cities already have such bird atlases while Kerala and Goa have a complete State bird atlas. With the move, the birding communities here aim to systematically document the bird species in and around Hyderabad to create the Hyderabad Bird Atlas. The survey will cover 11 per cent of the area inside the Outer Ring Road (ORR) documenting birds in various habitats, including woodlands, grasslands, wetlands, natural open areas and urban landscapes. The places will be randomly selected for the survey.

---

While Hyderabad Birding Pals (HBP) and Deccan Birders are leading the effort, many more organisations including the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) are expected to join the survey. The registration for voluntary enrolment of the participants started on Wednesday. It received an overwhelming response as the number crossed 100 on the first day. The members of the HBA project say the number of participants would be anywhere between 300 to 500. The survey needs to be done twice a year during winter in February and post-summer in July. The first survey of the HBA will be taken up in February 2025. The members have selected some 180 sub-cells (areas) for the survey.

However, they say the State government should extend all the support to birdwatchers to carry out the exercise without any issues. The government should allow birdwatchers into public places, parks, reserve forests, universities, schools, colleges, office campuses, and residential campuses. A systematic survey for the next three to five years would help to create an authentic bird atlas for Hyderabad. HBA would act as a valuable tool for scientists, conservationists, and policymakers to understand bird populations, monitor changes over time, identify important bird areas and strategise conservation efforts, they said.

Speaking to Telangana Today, a key member of HBA project, Sriram Reddy said the creation of the HBA would help to educate citizens on biodiversity besides encouraging bird watching. The birding atlas would also help in building the Hyderabad brand, he added.