Annual bird race to be conducted today

Coimbatore: The ninth edition of Coimbatore Bird Race will be held on Sunday. With sponsors like HSBC Bank and 23 teams, including teams of schoolchildren and experienced bird watchers, registering for the event, it is expected to bigger than last year.
The key aim of the event, which is organized by the Salim Ali Naturalist Forum (SANF), is to popularize the hobby of bird watching in urban areas. The participants will spot and identify different bird species from dawn to dusk. Though the race is not a competition, participants will exchange notes and have discussions based on their findings, from which children and beginners will gain knowledge from experienced bird watchers.
“The bird races are conceptualized to help study lives of birds in urban areas and to understand various aspects of biodiversity and environment around them,” said an official organizing the event. “Birds are often the foremost attraction for people trying to understand urban biodiversity.”
The race, which is coordinated by the Yuhina Canopy, is part of the India Bird Races conducted across 12 Indian cities usually between December and early March. “Important data that reflects positive and negative impacts of urban areas on natural scheme of things has been gathered so far in the races by about 3,000 participants,” said the official.