CBC 2020 - Regional Science Centre, Tirupati

Continuing into the foothill forests of Seshachalam, the Regional Science Centre (RSC) campus is one of the birdwatching hotspots in Tirupati. As we were simultaneously supporting the Campus Bird Counts on other campuses in the landscape while contributing to the efforts on our campus (IISER Tirupati), we were short of persons to lead the Campus Bird Count walks at the Regional Science Centre. Fortunately, Mr. Chandra Sekhar, a bird watcher from Bangalore was visiting Tirupati at the same time, and volunteered to help us.

Ten young members of the RSC Nature Club, along with a couple of enthusiastic parents at the Science Centre, led by Mr. Purushotham (Programme Manager), gathered at 6.45 am for the bird count. The timing was right—silk cotton trees (Bombax Ceiba) in the campus were in full bloom, attracting a lot of birds.

The young naturalists spent time with two otherwise shy Large Cuckooshrikes (Coracina macei) that were perched on a tree, providing good views.  A pair of Rufous Treepies (Dendrocitta vagabunda) followed the walkers. Some walkers stayed back and watched the Thick-billed Flowerpeckers, Pale-billed Flowerpeckers and Purple Sunbirds that repeatedly visited and fed on the Bombax flowers, ignoring the birders below.

The real excitement in everyone started when from nowhere, a Hair-crested Drongo (Dicrurus hottentottus) joined the feeding party. It’s a surprising record and so far, the first record of this bird in Tirupati. A total of 22 species of birds were recorded in this session at the Regional Science Centre.

The Campus Bird Count is a great start for collaborative initiatives in the landscape. With so much enthusiasm and support from local stakeholders, the citizen science program of IISER Tirupati will ensure valuable contributions from the landscape in future initiatives.