Birdwatchers, students, employees attend workshop on avian diversity

A one-day workshop was organised by the Department of Zoology at Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa. Experts — Mittal Gala and Samakshi Tiwari from eBird India and Birds Count India respectively were the key speakers. The event, held at the Tagore Extension Lecture Theatre, was attended by over 50 students from the Zoology Department, local birdwatchers, and forest department employees.

The workshop focused on collecting real data on the current bird diversity in Haryana with the help of local bird experts. Mittal Gala highlighted the importance of birds and their conservation, emphasising the lack of data on bird population in northern India. He trained participants on bird identification and how to upload data using a particular software.

Samakshi Tiwari further guided participants on using mobile apps like Merlin and eBird for quick bird identification and data entry. Dr Harkrishan, Assistant Professor, welcomed the speakers. The session concluded with a vote of thanks from Assistant Professor Nisha Bharti.