256 species of birds recorded during Goa BirdRace 2022

52 participants who participated at the recently held second Goa BirdRace captured 256 species of birds within 12 hours.

President of Goa Bird Conservation Network, Mandar Bhagat said, “Our analysis revealed that White-throated Kingfisher, Brahminy Kite and House Crow are the three most common birds that can be encountered by anyone in Goa, while some very rare bird species like Common Shelduck at Carambolim, Eurasian Oystercatcher at Agacaim and Ferruginous Duck at Batim were also recorded during the race."

He further added that the participants collectively contributed 75 bird lists from multiple locations gathering very important information about the status of birds in Goa and giving a snapshot of the birdlife of the state.

Founder President of GBCN, Parag Rangnekar also said that this effort again throws a light on the potential that Goa has for bird tourism. "Any bird watching tourist who visits Goa can easily take up a sighting list of 150 plus species at a leisurely pace and with some more efforts can go back with a list of 200 plus species from Goa,” said Rangenkar.

The idea behind organizing this bird race was to document as many as bird species from Goa possible within the given area and time. The event was organized by Goa Bird Conservation Network in association with the India BirdRaces team and sponsored by HSBC.

The winning team comprised of four youngsters Jalmesh Karapurkar, Manjeet Gawas, Kuldip Topo and Fondu Rane counted 190 species by visiting multiple areas across Goa, from the Chorla Ghat in the morning to Agacaim Mudflats in the evening.

"An overwhelming 256 species of birds were recorded within a mere 12 hours from Goa, which translates to 53% of all the bird species documented in Goa as of April 2021, said Pronoy Baidya, treasurer of Goa Bird Conservation Network and co-organiser of the Goa BirdRace 2022.