Sisterhood of Sunday birders: How Coimbatore’s Women Wetland Watch documents the city’s waterbodies

As dusk falls connected Valankulam, a sprightly radical of birders prepares for its 25th vertebrate watching expedition. There are teachers, a dentist, an HR professional: each of them women with a emotion for the outdoors. They are portion of Women Wetland Watch, an inaugural by city-based Siddharth Foundation, a non-profit organiation that focuses connected biodiversity conservation. Armed with tract glasses and mobile phones with the eBird app astatine the ready, they acceptable retired to number grebes, spot swamphens, and papers spot-billed ducks astatine the wetland successful the bosom of the city.

The squad meets for birding 1 Sunday each period astatine 1 of the city’s wetlands. Siddharth Foundation, says P Pramod, a idiosyncratic with SACON who is besides 1 of its trustees, was started to link radical with Nature. “Women are a conception of the colonisation we privation to absorption on,” helium says. “I consciousness that erstwhile we motivate women to bash something, they motivate others too.” He explains that their absorption is not connected the technicalities of birding specified arsenic taxon identification. “It is much connected mentally connecting radical to Nature. Once that is done, the remainder is taken attraction of,” says Pramod.

Around 10 to 30 women from each walks of beingness stitchery for their Sunday sessions, galore of whom bring their children along. The programme has covered 11 wetlands successful and astir the city, with implicit 450 women participating since its inception successful 2023 to papers 146 vertebrate species, isolated from insects, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, and wetland flora.

While immoderate members of Women Wetland Watch are portion of different birding groups arsenic well, they get galore first-timers for their Sunday meets. Birding with an all-women squad is nary antithetic from doing truthful with a radical that has some genders. But Auxilia Helen, a schoolhouse teacher for implicit 28 years, feels that a consciousness of sisterhood does find its mode successful to pep things up.

“You cognize however it is erstwhile like-minded women get together; determination is simply a antithetic benignant of vibe; 1 that is fun, relaxed and warm. Our meet-ups person that spirit,” she adds. Auxilia got into birding erstwhile her lad — who is present 24 and is into wildlife probe and conservation — was successful school. “I started birding due to the fact that of his involvement successful Nature, and went connected to organise sessions for my students,” she says. Subha Maheshwaran, different schoolhouse teacher successful the group, besides got into birding due to the fact that of her daughter. She is present a wildlife researcher and Subha is continuing the exercise.

For Kursheeth Byju, a dentist, birding offers the accidental to instrumentality a interruption from a demanding vocation and routine. “When my boys wherever successful school, I wouldn’t privation to bash thing different than walk clip with them connected Sundays,” she recalls adding: “As moving mothers, we ever transportation a definite guilt.” Now that her sons are grown up and person near location for college, Kursheeth has recovered clip to walk her Sundays by herself — camera focussed connected a flock of Eurasian coots oregon grey-headed swamphens.

Auxilia, however, says that she has ne'er recovered the request for giving up 1 happening for another. “I ever guarantee I person clip for others erstwhile they request me; and astir importantly, marque clip for myself,” she says. “I’ve nary guilt successful doing so; I privation to unrecorded for myself, to prioritise my likes.” Even today, she had to hole her students for an exam, aft which she managed to zoom connected her scooter to the water to articulation her chap birders.

The team’s senior-most subordinate is 67-year-old Nahieed Sultana, who retired aft a agelong vocation with BSNL. She is portion of different birding groups and ensures she joins Women Wetland Watch each month. Sultana has been birding connected and disconnected since 2006 and shares her tract contented with caller members, specified arsenic what to archetypal announcement successful a vertebrate successful bid to place it. This includes the signifier and size of the beak, the colour and texture of its feathers and its feet.

Ask her astir her favourite taxable and she says, “The location crow,” adding: “People would laughter erstwhile I accidental this. But crows are fascinating creatures to observe and are often overlooked since they are seen successful plentifulness each astir us.” A gaggle of crows takes formation from a histrion and she is speedy to enactment their numbers successful the eBird mobile exertion connected her phone.

Sultana has kept astatine birding done transfers crossed the State. “I lone look astatine the entity erstwhile I measurement retired of location these days,” she laughs. She ever carries a basal point-and-shoot camera with her to enactment her sightings with photos. “It doesn’t connection the clarity of a nonrecreational camera, but I usage it to sprout definite uncommon sightings,” she adds.

Spending clip by the city’s wetlands has besides near them with first-hand observations of the diminution of our waterbodies. “We’ve had passers-by archer america however a water is being polluted by sewage water, asking america to bash thing astir it,” says Auxilia. “We consciousness a consciousness of work to spell beyond conscionable birding.”

The halfway members person a database of places they anticipation to question to unneurotic for birding. Among them are Vellode and Nanjarayan bird sanctuaries. For now, though, they are blessed exploring the city’s wetlands. Even if they don’t get to spot caller taxon during each visit, they spot what they often brushwood with caller eyes.

The pied kingfisher, for instance. “I tin support admiring them, particularly erstwhile they are roving adjacent to the water,” says Auxilia. “You should spot them during sunset astatine Sulur lake.” The Women of Wetland Watch bash what birders usually miss retired connected successful their eagerness to survey and papers and count: intermission and respect that winged quality successful beforehand of them.

To participate, travel them connected Instagram @siddharth_foundation