WINGS Thiruvananthapuram bird count records 188 species

WINGS - Birds of India Nature Awareness Programme, Thiruvananthapuram 2025, a district-level vertebrate number that covered wetlands, forests, elevation stations, campuses and municipality landscapes crossed the district, recorded 188 species, WWF-India, which coordinated the lawsuit with the Trivandrum Birding Team, said connected Sunday.

The Kottoor forests yielded 85 species, the highest among the 10 regions surveyed during the one-day lawsuit connected December 14. The database included Changeable hawk-eagle, Common buzzard, Small Minivet, and Black-naped monarch. The Arippa forest, on the Thiruvananthapuram-Shengottai route, besides emerged arsenic a species-rich site, yielding 83 species, the WWF-India said successful a statement.

With the assistance of wood guides of the Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC), the participants recorded the Sri Lanka frogmouth, a hard-to-find vertebrate successful the forests of the Western Ghats. “The Jawaharlal Nehru Topical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI), situated connected the foothills of the Western Ghats, yielded 50 species, reaffirming that campuses extracurricular protected areas tin service arsenic important biodiversity hotspots,” the WWF-India said.

High diversity

Hill and wood ecosystems besides showed precocious diversity. Ponmudi recorded 67 species, including the Lesser coucal, Brown-backed needletail, White-rumped spinetail, and Common rosefinch. Bonacaud recorded 73 species, including Indian pitta, Square-tailed bulbul, Rufous babbler, and ample numbers of Brown-backed needletail, reflecting effectual coexistence betwixt radical and wildlife successful well-maintained wood areas, the connection said.

The Vellayani-Punchakkari wetland, often dubbed the birding hub of the superior city, yielded 76 species, including the Amur falcon, Peregrine falcon, and Baillon’s crake. Kadinamkulam Lake recorded 36 species, including Eurasian whimbrel, Common redshank, and Stork-billed kingfisher.

Fifty-one taxon were reported from the Akkulam-Veli region, indicating that specified rapidly changing municipality spaces proceed to harbour important biodiversity, according to the participants. Around 500 Lesser whistling ducks were sighted connected the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) campus, highlighting the relation of organization campuses arsenic refuge oregon biodiversity hotspots successful fast-changing municipality landscapes, the WWF-India said.

Migratory birds

The squad that surveyed the Thiruvananthapuram zoo and the Kesavadasapuram paddy fields recorded 46 species, underlining the value of municipality wetlands. The beingness of migratory birds specified arsenic Indian pitta, Orange-headed thrush, Brown-breasted flycatcher, Blue-throated flycatcher, and Grey wagtail astatine the zoo reflected the bully ecological wellness of the city’s greenish spaces, the organisers said.

Nearly 50 volunteers from antithetic sections of nine participated successful the exercise. The participants included scientists, experienced birdwatchers, quality enthusiasts, wood guides from the KFDC Arippa, and assemblage students.

This twelvemonth marked the 19th variation of the survey. The inaugural was started by Sunjoy Monga, renowned arsenic Mumbai’s Birdman, who passed distant connected May 28, 2025. Saju S. Nair, Assistant Conservator of Forests (Social Forestry); Dileep M.R., Director of the Kerala Institute of Travel and Tourism Studies (KITTS); Renjan Mathew Varghese, State Director, WWF-India; Anushreedha S.S., Project Officer, WWF-India; and A.K. Sivakumar and Govind Girija, coordinators of WINGS Thiruvananthapuram 2025, addressed the participants.