Berhampur,12thNov2022:The Department of Environmental Studies, Berhampur University organised “The Berhampur University Bird Walk (TBUBW) – 2022 programme in commemoration of 126th Birth anniversary of Dr. Sálim Ali, the Birdman of India, on 12th November 2022. This is the first of its kind campus bird walk organized in Berhampur University.
The bird walk aimed at orienting students and research fellows about the diversity of birds in Berhampur University campus, their identification and their ecological roles and services. More than 40 participants from different P.G. Departments of the university have registered for this bird walk. The bird walk in the campus was inaugurated in the presence of Prof. Geetanjali Dash, Vice-Chancellor, Berhampur University followed by Photography exhibition (on campus birds) and two technical lectures. A list of bird species was recorded during the bird walk to understand the diversity, distribution and abundance of different bird species present in the University campus. The Photography exhibition was inaugurated by Shri Amlan Kumar Nayak, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Berhampur Forest Division in the presence of Prof. P. K. Swain, Registrar I/c, and Prof. P. Samantaray, I/c Chairman, P.G. Council and Dr. B. Anjan K. Prusty, HOD, Department of Environmental Studies. The DFO Berhampur Forest Division enriched the enthusiasm of the student participants. In the technical sessions Mr. Tuhinanshu Kar, Researcher, Chilika Development Authority (CDA) delivered a comprehensive talk on bird watching and identification of birds, and Dr. B. Anjan K. Prusty, HOD, Department of Environmental Studies described on the significance of birding, ecological role and importance of Birds in the environment. The teaching staffs and research scholars assisted in the whole programme.
More than 1342 species of birds are reported till date from India and more than 525 species of birds are reported from Odisha. Berhampur University Campus has a record of more than 100 species of birds till date. In today’s programme, a total of 39 species of birds were recorded during the four hours of the birding within the campus which includes common species such as House Crow (Corvus splendens), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer), Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), Shikra (Accipiter badius), White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus), Indian Gray Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris). Such campus bird walk has instilled a sense of birding in the young students and scholars in Berhampur University.
