THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The Second Goa BirdRace held by Goa Bird Conservation Network (GBCN), the State’s pioneering bird conservation organisation, in association with the India BirdRaces team, identified 256 species of birds within a mere 12 hours in the State on Sunday.
The objective of a bird race was to try and document as many species as possible in a given area within a day through friendly competition mode.
For the 2nd Goa BirdRace, 13 teams and 52 participants came together to count as many bird species in Goa as was possible.
“An overwhelming 256 species of birds were recorded within a mere 12 hours from Goa, which translates to 53% of all bird species documented in Goa as of April 2021,” said Pronoy Baidya, treasurer of GBCN and co-organiser of the Goa BirdRace 2022.
“The winning team, comprising four youngsters Jalmesh Karapurkar, Manjeet Gawas, Kuldip Topo and Fondu Rane, counted 190 species by visiting multiple areas across Goa, from the Chorla Ghat in the morning to Agacaim Mudflats in the evening,” added Baidya.
The winning team was felicitated by Chief Election Officer (Goa) Kunal, who is himself an avid bird watcher.
“Participants collectively contributed 75 bird lists from multiple locations gathering very important information about the status of birds in Goa and giving a snapshot of the bird life of the State,” said Mandar Bhagat, President of Goa Bird Conservation Network.
“Our analysis revealed that White-throated Kingfisher, Brahminy Kite and House Crow are the three most common birds that can be encountered by anyone in Goa, while some very rare bird species like Common Shelduck at Carambolim, Eurasian Oystercatcher at Agacaim and Ferruginous Duck at Batim were also recorded during the race,” added Bhagat.
GBCN founder president Parag Rangnekar said this effort again throws a light on the potential that Goa has for bird tourism.
“Any bird watching tourist who visits Goa can easily rake up a sighting list of 150 plus species at a leisurely pace and with some more efforts can go back with a list of 200 plus species from Goa,” said Rangnekar.
“Efforts like the Goa BirdRace aids not only in documentation of Goa’s birds but also provides us a reminder that the State needs to promote ethical and sustainable bird and wildlife-based tourism on a larger platform so that it can aid conservation efforts in return,” Rangnekar added.
