3 min readChandigarhFeb 13, 2024 08:08 AM IST
First published on: Feb 12, 2024 at 04:26 PM IST
Birders spotted at least 245 out of a total of 436 bird species found in the Inter-State Chandigarh Region (ISCR) during the 14th HSBC Chandigarh Bird Race 2024 held on Sunday. This is slightly more than last year’s total of 236 species.
While the Golden Bush Robin was declared the ‘Bird of the Day’, other species spotted include the Chestnut-headed Tesia, Scaly-breasted Cupwing, Long-legged Buzzard, Indian Spotted Eagle and the Collared Scops Owl.
Fifteen teams of birders combed the ISCR area comprising the Morni Hills, Chakki Mod, Kasauli Hills, Motemajra, Siswan and Sukhna Lake, spending almost 12 hours in making checklists.
The Golden Bush Robin was declared the ‘Bird of the Day’.
The birders were, however, worried about spotting fewer birds, especially migratory species, in prominent wetlands including the Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh. “We observed that there was less presence of birds in ISCR this time. This could be attributed to many reasons, including habitat destruction, harsh climate, human disturbance around the wetlands, small water bodies etc,” said Matinder Pal Sekhon, executive member of the Chandigarh Bird Club (CBC).
Sekhoh has guided many visitors, especially children, on the technique of bird watching using binoculars, digital cameras and other equipment. In the areas around Sukhna Lake, Long-tailed Minivets, especially females, were in abundant numbers besides Small Niltava, Lesser White-Throat, White Eye-Oriental, etc. Among the water fowls spotted at Sukhna Lake were Coot, Ruddy Shelduck and Indian Spot-billed Duck.
Chestnut-bellied nuthatch
Chandigarh Bird Club president Rima Dhillon said, “Fifteen teams of birders set out and managed to list 245, of the total 436 species on the ISCR bird list in a 12-hour period. It was marginally more than last year’s total of 236 species. Most of the teams managed over a hundred species with outstanding effort on the part of all the participants.”
“Team Black Baza led by Gurjit Virk along with Shruti, Aseem and Jaspreet managed an astounding 195 species. Team Kestrel comprising Mohit Kohli, Saiyyam Nagar, Sidharth Nagar and Rajive Das managed an equally great number of 171 species. Team Hariyal with Vikas Sharma, Praveen Nain, Preneet Shergill and Shilpi Sehgal spotted 161 species,” Dhillon added.
Birder Kulbhushan Kanwar says many participated with their usual zeal and enthusiasm, “setting out at the crack of dawn to try and cover a maximum number of diverse habitats in and around Chandigarh and at dusk they still hadn’t had enough but wanted a few more minutes before submitting their checklists!”
Meanwhile, this year the event included a team of four personnel from the Air Force station. They were all beginners but had developed an interest in the winged beauties and started to identify them after being posted along runways to keep them bird-free. One of them had even completed a basic ornithology course under the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
A group being taught bird-watching techniques. 
The Golden Bush Robin was declared the ‘Bird of the Day’.
Chestnut-bellied nuthatch
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