Andhra Pradesh-Culture and Commons: Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)

[Indu]

As the third part in my saga of posts on “Andhra Pradesh-Culture and Commons”, I am going to speak about the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) in this post. As a part of my internship, I joined the Foundation of Ecological Security (FES) in the GBBC program. To summarize, the Great Backyard Bird Count is a four day long global event that takes place in the month of February every year. It is the first online citizen science project which was launched by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology in association with The National Audubon Society in 1998. The FES have been participating in the bird count for the past eight years. This year, me and my fellow interns were able to take part in it.

The first question that I considered before I joined was if GBBC has a connection with the Commons. This was answered on the first field word we did for GBBC at Rekkamanu. Birds are an intricate part of an eco system with their importance spanning from pollination to insect control etc. By counting birds, it allows us to determine the condition of Commons and their favorability for sustaining life. While my untrained eyes spied a few birds, I was mostly in awe at the expanse of commons before by eyes.

The next day we joined a larger team at FES. I was part of a team that visited Diguvacheruvu. There we found various birds like common heron, Bulbul, Crane, Robin, Barn Swallow, King fisher, Black Kite and many more. It allowed me to look into the local nomenclature of the birds that the locals provided me with and immerse into the experience of observing nature. After the visit we convened to learn more about the bird species around us. It was a fascinating affair that allowed me a glimpse into the bond that locals share with the commons. So much so that nature is a part of their culture.

Birds are important part of human culture. Yet due to man-made causes they are reducing in number. When I saw common sparrows while on field I was surprised and delighted. This is mostly because sparrows in city are rare. The cultural landscape of rural Andhra is keeping the species alive. GBBC is one of many activities that impress the need for protection of birds and the Commons that house them.

[Kimaya]

Interested post. Just wanted to ask if you’ve had a chance to check out today’s updated Dhankesari results? It’s always exciting to see if luck is on our side! 😊”

Today Result

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