Kalamassery may be an extension of Ernakulam city, but this municipality alone is home to a whopping 191 bird species, according to a recent compilation of bird lists across select corporations, municipalities and panchayats across the State. Bird species recorded within Kalamassery municipality limits include the rare Egyptian vulture and the greater spotted eagle.
While the Egyptian vulture, classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has been previously recorded in Kerala only from Wayanad district and Thrissur’s kole wetlands, the greater spotted eagle is a rare winter visitor to south India.
Kalamassery is home to 43 migratory bird species too, including the common sandpiper and bar-tailed godwit (classified as Near-Threatened by the IUCN). Other threatened species including the woolly-necked stork, black-headed ibis, oriental darter and red-necked falcon have been spotted here too.
Interesting sightings
Bird species that are endemic to the Western Ghats – which means they are not found anywhere else in the world – that have been sighted here include the Malabar starling, Malabar lark, white-bellied treepie and the grey-fronted green pigeon.
Other interesting observations include a record of the black baza from Kalamassery; the bird is usually seen in tropical evergreen forest patches only. The most recent sighting of this forest bird was on November 30 by birdwatcher Polly Kalamassery, who has contributed to the project.
“This is the second consecutive year we have been spotting the black baza in Kalamassery,” said Mr. Polly, a retired FACT employee, who has been birding actively for the past four years.
Including Mr. Polly, a total of 68 birdwatchers (enthusiasts as well as birdwatchers and researchers affiliated with Bird Count India, Kerala Agricultural University, Cochin Natural History Society and Kerala Birders) contributed 694 bird lists containing 10,197 observations of bird species in Kalamassery to the online citizen science website, eBird. These bird lists, spanning 30 years, were used by scientists among these groups to compile the entire data. The project was led by the KAU and Bird Count India in association with the State Forest Department.
“Though there is bird distribution data on eBird for 900-odd panchayats across the State, we chose the leading panchayats, municipalities, corporations from each district,” said Nameer P. O., one of the coordinators of the survey and professor and head of wildlife at the College of Forestry in Thrissur’s Kerala Agricultural University.
The posters were aimed at highlighting the conservation significance of our urban landscape, said Dr. Nameer. “They can be used as baseline information by the local self-government to conserve these sites as well as use these sites judiciously in future, if development projects are envisaged there.”
In a formal inauguration, posters containing the highlights of sightings in each district were handed over to the respective panchayat, municipality or corporation representatives by Forest Minister K. Raju on December 4.