Birding enthusiasts celebrate November with #birdNov campaign on social media

A sketch of great hornbill by Dhiyaneshwaran VR
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The return of a pair of pied kingfishers to a percolation tank of Rishi Valley School campus in Andhra Pradesh after two decades is posted under #birdNov on Instagram. The post also adds a short note on the contributions of naturalists S Rangaswami, author of the book Birds of Rishi Valley and Renewal of their Habitats. On Facebook, a series of water colour sketches pay on ode to egrets, cormorants and the great hornbill whose deep grunted call resonates across valleys of dense evergreen forests in the Western Ghats. Meanwhile, one can also learn how the metallic ‘tuk-tuk-tuk’ of a bird (similar to the sound of a coppersmith striking a copper sheet with a hammer) gave it the name coppersmith barbet. 

November heralds celebrations across the birding community as it is the birth month of Birdman of India, Dr Sálim Ali and the onset of winter migration of birds from the northern hemisphere towards the Indian subcontinent. There is excitement as festivities kick off with #birdNov on social media where anyone can post art, writing, songs, talks, photos, doodling, dance, awareness programmes, and bird walks, to celebrate birds and Nature.

Dr Salim Ali
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

November 12, 2022 marks the 126th birth anniversary of Sálim Ali, the doyen of Indian ornithology. Sálim Ali has motivated, nurtured and left behind a breed of researchers and bird watchers, young and old, who carry forward his legacy. “What better way to pay tribute to a legend who has inspired many generations of bird watchers,” asks birder K Selvaganesh who has already put up posts on social media on 10 migratory birds including ashy drongos, bar-headed geese, for the first 10 days of November.

His latest post is on the European roller that breeds in Western Europe and Central Asia including Kashmir. Just like Amur falcon and common cuckoo, the European roller makes the remarkable journey from central Asia through India and crosses the Arabian Sea to spend winters in Africa. “I also download the corresponding animated migration map that tracks the migratory route from citizen science platform eBird for a better understanding of this fascinating phenomenon. As daylight shrinks and food supply dwindles at the breeding sites in the northern hemisphere, birds start migrating towards wintering sites in the South. Their arrival also shows that our environment is healthy.”

Boopathy Srinivasan, a design thinker based in Chennai and an alumni of NID Ahmedabad, says birdNov, that enters its third edition this year, is a model that brings design strategies like Inktober and Nature together, something like the Margazhi season. “Every skill set is aligned with Nature and starts a discussion on the environment. And, eventually conservation,” says Boopathy who has done sketches of urban birds like barn swallows, yellow-billed barbler, red-vented bulbul, sunbirds and paradise flycatcher that he spots at thickets in and around Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai.

Participants can upload a post on birds every day using hashtags #birdNov and #birdNov2022. “Contribution from birders across various online platforms has grown immensely over the three years,” says P Jeganathan of Tamil Birder’s Network, who puts out a blog post every day on threatened birds of Tamil Nadu like Nilgiri blue robin, Nilgiri laughing thrush, and steppe eagle. “As birders, we want this movement to grow organically. For example, when it’s Margazhi, people wake up early and start putting kolams. Similarly, every day bird watching should be celebrated in some form in November.”

Pied Kingfisher
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Did you know that the grey-fronted green pigeon is endemic to the Western Ghats? Birder Vishnu Sankar puts the spotlight on endemic birds including the Niligiri wood pigeon, Malabar grey hornbill, and Malabar parakeet.“I spotted the grey-scented green pigeon bird at Rajapalayam and at Ayyanar Falls. The photographs should motivate people to pick up their binoculars and set out for bird watching.”

A wealth of information on birds is already trending on various social media platforms including books on birds, poetry, water colour sketches, information on migration, and wetlands. Shilppa Das, who teaches humanities at NID shares the portrait of the bird red adavat and cherry (1892) by Japanese artist Keibun Matsumoto to pay tribute to Salim Ali and also looks at art history and birds, while birdwatcher and ecologist V Santharam from Rishi Valley School shares photographs of birds accompanied by write-ups. Birder Anglein Mano, nature educator at Salem Ornithological Foundation documents wetlands and birding hotspots of Salem. Adds Boopathy, “Anyone can use of this month-long festival to observe the environment, its patterns, and birds.”