What's On in May
It’s May, a month when there aren’t as many migrants as other months, but it’s still a busy time of year for most of our resident birds!
In many parts of the country, the rich musical songs of a magpie robin, the metallic notes of a black drongo, and the harsh piercing calls of a brain-fever are among the first sounds heard in the early hours of the morning. Flashy plumage and elaborate courtship rituals can be fascinating to witness! Most Indian birds are engaged in various breeding behaviors and so this is also a good time to observe and document such behavior. Let’s take a look at what’s happening this month
In GBBC 2024, Indian birders uploaded more than 58,000 checklists and recorded 1,036 species! This was the first GBBC in India where all states and union territories participated. Congratulations to all the birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts from across the country who made this event a success! See here to read the full results.
Special Events
May starts with much excitement with the Endemic Bird Day on 11 May. It also dovetails with the Global Big Day – a day where bird enthusiasts across the world document as many birds as possible in a single 24-hour period. All lists that get uploaded on eBird on this day get added to the Global Big Day too!
11 May will be celebrated as Himalayan Bird Count. This is the third year of this event where birders in the countries (Nepal & Bhutan) and states of the Himalayan region will come together to participate! All lists that get uploaded on eBird on this day get added to the Global Big Day too! More details here.
Regular Events
A web page lists bird events (mostly walks) that are conducted on a regular schedule (typically weekly or monthly) by various birding groups across the country. Take a look to see if there is something happening near you!
Challenges
The eBird India challenge for May is to aggregate at least 32 eligible* checklists throughout the month.
Are you organizing a birding event soon?
If so, please drop a line to skimmer@birdcount.org so that we can include it in our monthly “What’s On in Birding” updates.