The birds are back

One of the problems with people today is most of them deal only with lifeless, artificial objects in their daily work, with objects that are not particularly beautiful and that are by no means appropriate to inspire awe and respect. That is why most people have forgotten how to live with living creatures.

- Konrad Lorenz

ONE feature that strikes a bird enthusiast visiting the United States after a break - is the increasing presence of birds all around, even in large cities. There are diverse reasons for this: one is the heightened awareness of environmental protection among people. Birds have been recognised as the most prominent indicators of the well-being of our environment. But the crucial reason seems to be stopping the use of DDT.

This deadly pesticide had proved harmful to birds into whose bodies it found its way through myriad small life in the field. It proved particularly lethal to raptors. The peregrine falcon nesting in the bridges of New York City and the triumphant return of the bald eagle, once teetering on extinction, are parts of this success story.

On my first morning in New Orleans, we sat down for breakfast in the small garden in my host's new house. To entice the birds, my friend had three different bird feeders - one with nectar, the second with small seeds and the third with large seeds. These contraptions ensured a steady stream of visitors. Before we finished eating, we had seen a red-throated humming bird, a cardinal, a jay, a redheaded woodpecker and a red-winged black bird. Add to this a red-tailed hawk that flew over. All through, two squirrels waited on the ground to pick up the nuts that dropped from the feeders.

The tremendous enthusiasm that is building up for birdwatching is another factor in getting the birds protected. One out of four in America is a bird-enthusiast. On any day, you see small groups of keen birders scouring the bushes in the Central Park in New York. Birdwatching is considered one of the fastest growing hobbies. When a person takes to birdwatching, soon his concerns widen to cover conservation issues. Many wildlifers and environmentalists in India had also started as birdwatchers.

Bird counts, like the Asian Winter Waterfowl we do in India, are done online. Each birder records in his observation on the Internet and in a few days the latest figures are available. Similarly, rare sightings are reported online.

In fact for mobilising support for conservation causes and for activism related to environment, the internet is being used in a big way. In India this practice is just beginning, thanks to individuals like Ashish Pittie of Hyderabad and Sridhar of Bangalore. However, institutional use of Internet for conservation purposes is yet to catch on.

The groundswell of support for conservation in the U.S. is the result of many events organised by conservation groups. The bird marathon is one such. Every summer, for the past 18 years, the Audubon Society at New Jersey has been organising a competition among birdwatchers to spot as many birds as they can in a span of 24 hours. The event, called World Series of Birding, was on this May and I followed it. Birders from all over the country come to take part in this bird marathon. The team should consist of a minimum of two birders and the contest begins at midnight. The interesting point is that hearing a bird call is enough to record its presence. This enables the birder to work at night and record the presence of nocturnal birds. Second, the call of a bird is a much more reliable indication of its identity than the appearance. Therefore identification through call is a safer method. This year, the winning team in New Jersey competition logged 214 species.

On an afternoon walk around a small lake in Bronxville, a New York suburb, we sighted a number of birds. Large cormorants, black birds and mocking birds. A night heron was fishing during day, breaking the rules of bird behaviour. Canada geese were all over. Migrants from Canada, many of these birds have stayed on and have started breeding in their domicile. They have proliferated so much that in some places they are a nuisance and gardens have what is known as a "goose fence" to keep them out. In this lake we saw a group of 14 goslings feeding, supervised by two geese. Were they male or female or were they two broods supervised by two females? We checked this with a birdwatcher there and he said they were indeed male and female. "They are sharing parental chores," he said and added with an impish smile, "being politically correct."

S. THEODORE BASKARAN

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