REVIEW :
On 18th September, 2021 Gyaaan Adab under its initiative GyaanPedia presented ‘Flights of Fancy’. GyaanPedia aims to spread knowledge about various topics with our walking, talking encyclopaedias or our presenters. Each of our presenters are extremely passionate about their field and bring us a treasure trove of knowledge.
Our presenter for our last event was Gaurav Nalkur.
He started the session with an introduction to birds and how they are considered the last living dinosaurs. This was followed by an introduction to bird watching. Bird watching is often more bird ‘hearing’ than watching. Often, one will hear the bird before they see it. The hobby or passion of bird watching is a great way to develop an appreciation for nature. It helps develop a sharpened sense of hearing and eyesight.
Young children have a fascination for nature and have a greater affinity to nature and pick up bird watching very easily, according to Gaurav.
Gaurav further spoke of how it is very easy for an amateur to begin bird watching. A few things are required to begin:
1. Eyes, ears and patience
2. Binoculars or any other visual aid
3. Field guide – a book that will have illustrations of various birds. (Usually has information about birds that one might sight)
4. Notepad/book/ smartphone and pen
Next, we delved into the relationship between bird watching and photography. Unlike watching, photography requires a subject that will stay still. As we know, birds are shy and aren’t really posing for watchers or photographers.
He spoke of unpopular but fascinating birds such as the Great Indian Bustard, Owls and more such birds. He ended this section with a statement that “Dull birds aren’t boring!”
The session came to an end with a lively question and answer session. Each of our participants had something new to ask about birds and bird watching.
Reference :
- eBird is the most popular listing site and citizen science initiative = https://ebird.org/
- Birds of the Indian Subcontinent: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives = https://www.amazon.in/dp/819331509X/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_QY417EV9D6FH7W9X9JBS
- Ebook APP = https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Richard_Grimmett_Birds_of_the_Indian_Subcontinent?id=HvY0DQAAQBAJ
- PPT shared during program = https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ICFqUTgnDWV_UVbUjKaDa3e_jFZb5bAKRGd2KDykpZA/edit?usp=drivesdk
Contact details :
- Gaurav Nalkur Instagram = https://instagram.com/thebirdmanchronicles?
- Gaurav Nalkur Email id = gaurav.nalkur.9787@gmail.com
