153 bird species sighted at Kyari birdwatching camp

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 17

As many as 153 bird species were sighted at the 25th birdwatching camp held at Kyari in Ramnagar area of Nainital district recently.

The 25th three-day birdwatching camp was organised by the eco-tourism wing of the Forest Department of Uttarakhand in partnership with camp hornbill in Kyari village to orient team leaders and nature guides with birdlife and trails at Pawalgarh Conservation Reserve.

The birds sighted during the camp included Ashy-headed green pigeon, a new addition to the Uttarakhand Bird Checklist, Little Forktail, White-rumped Spinetail, Little Pied Flycatcher and Chestnut-headed Tesia. During the camp, there were discussions on organisation of the birding trails, destination development for promotion of birdwatching in Uttarakhand and birding and tourism ethics.

The 36 participants at the Kyari Birdwatching Camp included nature guides from Corbett National Park, Chhoti Haldwani, Pangot, Nainital, Pancheshwar, Munsiyari, Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, Van Ghat, Nanda Devi, Jabbarkhet, two research assistants from Rajaji and two forest guards from Corbett Tiger Reserve. The camp was coordinated by Sanjay and Anchal Sondhi from Titli Trust.

According to Chief Conservator of Forests Eco-tourism Rajiv Bhartari, the objective of this camp was to upgrade these skills and recount interesting titbits and stories about various species that the guides would be able to share with participants in the 2nd Uttarakhand Spring Bird Festival in February 2015.