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Journalism of Courage
What do birds think about when they sing? Siddharth Biniwale, a Pune-based naturalist and researcher, who specialises in avian ecology and forest restoration, says, “A bird starts communicating right from the beginning, when they are embryos in eggs. There are heartbeats that inform the parent that hatching the egg is, for instance, one side is warm enough and they need to change the position of the egg.”
Since November is Young Birder’s Month, a nationwide event to encourage curiosity and ecological awareness among children through the fascinating world of birds, Biniwale will lead an event, “Birdsong Explorers” at the Empress Botanical Garden on Sunday. It is an excuse to extend Children’s Day celebrations, especially as winter migratory birds have arrived at the garden. The young group will spend a morning of listening and questioning. They will discover the meaning of bird calls and check out some cool tech that Biniwale uses for his own practice of studying birds.
Biniwale adds that, when people go out on birding, they are mostly looking for interesting photographs. “We appreciate visual cues but, earlier, humans used other senses, such as touch, smell and sound, to understand their surroundings. I hope to make this a science-based fun activity where children can learn to listen. The first part of the session is a bird walk, where we will go around and not just watching birds but also listening to them,” he says. There would be grey hornbills, the common myna and the blue flycatcher, among others.
Among the devices that the children will see — many for the first time – is the shotgun microphone that, like binoculars for sounds, can pick up a bird call from a definite direction while cancelling out background noise. There will be hands-on recording sessions, and a bit of the behavioural aspect of sound, such is the sound an alarm call or a feeding song? A quiz, with multiple choice questions, is on the cards which will include understanding how one can visualize the sound.
The children will be offered an audio experience of different spaces, city, village and forest, by their sounds. And there will be stories. Biniwale, an engaging storyteller, is beginning a YouTube channel, Raan Goshti, to share jungle stories. The children at the walk will be treated to stories, similar to that about a fellow birder who has recorded a Black Drongo that had learned to mimic the alarm call of the Red-Wattled Lapwing. “My fellow birder had observed that, whenever there was a dog passing, the drongo made a sound of a lapwing and the dog used to run away,” says Biniwale. A conversation with him is packed with such fascinating stories. “As a child, I was attracted to calls and I want to pass on the same hobby to children,” he adds.
