Backyard Birding During COVID 19 Lockdown

Backyard Bird Count During COVID 19 Lockdown

1. Joseph Roy, 2. John Roy, 3. Jyothi Roy

1-     1. MSc. Zoology, University of Kerala

2-     2.  Student- Tenth Standard KTJM HS Idamattom

3-      3. BSc. Zoology, Alphonsa College Pala

 

Introduction

The entire globe was shut down due to the COVID 19 pandemic. This actually gave us an ample amount of time to observe the biodiversity around us. The study period was from March 2020 to March 2021. The main objective of the study was to identify the avian diversity of Pala locality. I did background reading about the bird diversity of the Kottayam district but couldn't find a comprehensive report. Several parts like Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary has been studied earlier. (Narayanan, S. Prasanth & Manoj, P. & Sreekumar, B.. (2007). This study has reported 84 species of birds belonging to 35 families and 14 orders. 


Study Area

The area selected for study was the Kizhaparayar locality (pin 686578) of the Idamattom Local body, Kottayam district, Kerala. (9.701887739678625, 76.70472239566078). The study area is located on the banks of the Meenachil River which is flowing from the Vagamon part of western ghats. The study area has a span of 4sq.km. And several types of vegetation are found. Based on the types of vegetation the area can be divided into three,

 

1.      Rubber plantations

Plantation of Hevea brasiliensis is the dominant type of vegetation. These plantations are covering 70% of the study area. These plants have thick foliage and these leaves are shed during the summer. These plantations are cleared every 10 to 15 years and are replanted. During this time the entire vegetation including the undergrowth is removed. This makes a temporary imbalance in the ecosystem.

 

2.      Riparian Vegetation

Meenachil river demarcates the northern boundary of the study area. Banks of the river has riparian vegetation. Nearly 50% of the river boundary has a wall made of stones. These areas have the least amount of vegetation. River floods almost every year and this deposits alluvial soil in the banks.

3.      Paddy Fields

Study the area has a 20% area covered in paddy fields. These fields are now mostly uncultivated. The area is has a stream that is connected to the Meenachil River.

 

Materials and Methods

Mainly three methods were used for the assessment of bird diversity. These are;

 

1) Point count method- In this method points are selected in a transect and the diversity is monitored in

those selected points. In this study, the points were monitored twice a week.

 

2) Line transect method- In this method, a fixed route called transect is monitored while moving at a constant

pace. The line transect method reduces the chance of multiple detections of individuals.

 

3) Area count method- In this method, a fixed area is selected for monitoring. There is no fixed route for monitoring the fixed area.

 

All Three methods have been used for this study. All three habitats were monitored 4-6 times a week. The sites were visited during the morning and evenings. Noon sessions were also used to visit paddy field as Pelecaniformes are active during day times.

 

Photographs were taken using a Sony HX 400v point and shoot digital camera.

 

Digital edition of the field guide “Birds of Indian Subcontinent” by Grimmett

and Inskipp and websites like Xeno-Canto (https://www.xeno-canto.org/) were used for clarifications.

 

Ebird.org website and the mobile application were used to create checklists and track the transects using GPS.

 

Results

 

A total of 77 species of birds was observed during the study period.

1

Lesser Whistling-Duck

2

Asian Emerald Dove

3

Grey-fronted Green-Pigeon

4

Greater Coucal

5

Asian Koel

6

Common Hawk-Cuckoo

7

Indian Swiftlet

8

Little Swift

9

White-breasted Waterhen

10

Red-wattled Lapwing

11

Bronze-winged Jacana

12

Common Snipe

13

Oriental Darter

14

Little Cormorant

15

Indian Cormorant

16

Black Bittern

17

Intermediate Egret

18

Little Egret

19

Cattle Egret

20

Indian Pond-Heron

21

Black-crowned Night-Heron

22

Black-headed Ibis

23

Oriental Honey-buzzard

24

Crested Serpent-Eagle

25

Shikra

26

Black Kite

27

Brahminy Kite

28

Indian Scops-Owl

29

Jungle Owlet

30

Mottled Wood-Owl

31

Brown Boobook

32

Common Kingfisher

33

Stork-billed Kingfisher

34

White-throated Kingfisher

35

Pied Kingfisher

36

Green Bee-eater

37

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

38

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

39

White-cheeked Barbet

40

Brown-capped Woodpecker

41

Greater Flameback

42

Rufous Woodpecker

43

Black-rumped Flameback

44

Rose-ringed Parakeet

45

Plum-headed Parakeet

46

Vernal Hanging-Parrot

47

Indian Pitta

48

Orange Minivet

49

Large Cuckooshrike

50

Indian Golden Oriole

51

Black-hooded Oriole

52

Common Iora

53

Ashy Drongo

54

Bronzed Drongo

55

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

56

Indian Paradise-Flycatcher

57

Rufous Treepie

58

House Crow

59

Large-billed Crow

60

Cinereous Tit

61

Red-whiskered Bulbul

62

Greenish Warbler

63

Jungle Babbler

64

Yellow-billed Babbler

65

Malabar Starling

66

Common Myna

67

Jungle Myna

68

Orange-headed Thrush

69

Asian Brown Flycatcher

70

Oriental Magpie-Robin

71

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

72

Pale-billed Flowerpecker

73

Purple-rumped Sunbird

74

Loten's Sunbird

75

Golden-fronted Leafbird

76

White-rumped Munia

77

White-browed Wagtail


Discussion 

This study was able to document a complete checklist of birds of the study area. This study confirms the biodiversity of the Kizhaparayar locality of Pala, Kerala, India. Cutting is Para Rubber plantations every ten-year act as a major factor in shaping the biodiversity. Further studies are needed to confirm the effects of these clearings.