Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 11 Dec: Under the Great Himalayan Bird and Butterfly Count Campaign 2025, despite disruptions in air services across the country, 50 bird enthusiasts/experts from different states of India reached Doon University on 7 December. However, 66 bird experts were unable to participate in this important Himalayan survey due to the cancellation of Indigo flights, causing disappointment among them.
The Great Himalayan Bird and Butterfly Count Campaign 2025 was inaugurated in the Senate Hall of Doon University with insightful and informative addresses by Chief Guest Munna Singh Chauhan (MLA, Vikasnagar) and Special Guest Colonel Pratyush Thapliyal (Commanding Officer, Eco Task Force).
Campaign coordinator and founder of the ARC organisation, Prateek Panwar, shared essential details about the campaign. He divided the participants into ten groups and informed them about their allotted destinations. He also issued important safety guidelines regarding wildlife.
A goodwill message from Professor Durgesh Pant, Director, UCOST, was also read out during the inaugural programme. He could not attend in person due to being out of town. At the inauguration, insect expert Peter from Bhimtal shared valuable information about various insects and butterflies.
Ten teams along with their group leaders departed from Doon University for different regions of Uttarakhand to conduct bird observation and counting.
Among the participants were highly enthusiastic bird lovers such as Paren Seth from Ahmedabad, who arrived by self-driven private vehicle along with his wife and friends, and 88-year-old Sarabjit Kaur from Chandigarh, who also travelled in her private vehicle to join the campaign.
The campaign is being conducted with special support from UCOST, UTDB, the Forest Department, PWD, and Doon University.
The campaign ran from 7 to 11 December.
Highlight Species: black throated and rufous breasted accent ers, rock bunting, great barbet, black chinned and rusty checked scimitar babblers, grey winged and white collared blackbirds, Himalayan buzzard, black throated bushtit, steppe and mountain hawk eagles, mountain finches, common rose finches, pink browed rose finch, yellow breasted greenfinch, little and spotted forktails, Eurasian and black headed Jays, ultramarine flycatchers, Himalayan blue tail, Eurasian Kestrel, black kite, kaleej pheasant, streak and straited laughing thrush, chestnut crowned and white throated laughing thrush, scaly breastfed munia, spotted and Asian barred owlet, slaty headed and rose ringed parakeet, Himalayan and grey breastfed printable, blue fronted and blue capped restart, plumber’s and white capped restart, long tailed and grey backed shrine, raucous sebia, russet and house sparrow, Siberia stonechat, 5 type of thrushes, Himalayan griffins, Eurasian and cinereous vulture, bearded Vultures, many types of tits, treepies, treecreeper, many species of warblers, woodpeckers, spot winged and black & yellow grosbeak, black frankolin, whiskered yuhina, black redstart and many more.
