Media Release
Kasargod, Nov 12: Kidoor Bird fest 2019, an annual event outstanding of its kind, had a triumphant end. It marked on November 10 the third anniversary of the remarkable sighting of orange-breasted Green Pigeon (Treron Bicinctus), a rare bird.
The two day-long fest was inaugurated by Dr V Balakrishnan, member secretary of the State Biodiversity Board, Kerala.
P Biju, ACF Kasaragod social forestry division, graced the occassion by his presence as chief guest.
Pundarikaksha K L, president of Kumbla gram panchayat, presided over the programme.
Maxim Kollangana, one of the main organizers, an ardent naturalist and a post graduate student at Mangalore University, commenced the function with an enthusiastic welcome address. The vote of thanks was given by Abdhulla Kunji, RFO, Social forestry Kasargod.
The fest was distinguished by the presence of many nature enthusiasts and eminent scientists from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karanataka.
The iconic OBGP, arrived soon, literally inaugurating the fest.
Birding field session was organized in the Midlands of Kidoor that offered sightings of many interesting bird species like Tawny Pipit, Blyth's Pipit, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, White-bellied Sea Eagle and Malabar Lark. Later on, a nocturnal field session was conducted that was alive with the presence of Jerdon's Nightjar, several frog species, snakes and lizards.
On the second day, the participants were enthralled by a visit to the Gumpe hills where they were lucky to witness the second-most sighting of Short-toed Snake Eagle from Kasaragod district. A group of Indian Golden Oriole, Green Warbler, Grey-necked Bunting, many other birds and a Saw scaled viper were observed.
One of the highlighting features of the fest was an interaction on raptors by C Sashikumar, an august ornithologist, who shared his wisdom of years of comprehensive field research. Maxim Kollangana, founder of Kasargod Birders Club, gave insights on the intensive conservation and biodiversity monitoring projects that are regularly conducted in Kasaragod.
Raju Kidoor, Prashantha Krishna, Pradeep Kidoor, Murali Madhava Pelthaje, Lavina Surathkal and Glan Kidoor were the masterminds of this fest, which has infinite years of excellence to follow.
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It is a bona fide accomplishment of our ideas to use citizen science as an implement for conservation of biodiversity in a local area. We also intend Kidoor Bird Fest to become an interactive platform where people can share their ideas on conservation and related issues - Maxim Rodrigues (founder Kasargod Birders).