Date: 29th December, 2024
Location: Nehar Sahibi
Walk expert: Sohail Madan
No. of participants: 8
Theme: Crafting Bird-Friendly Spaces
Brief summary of the walk:
Sohail Madan led this wonderful workshop on Sunday, 29th December
Sohail, an ecologist, author, and educator, is the Director of WildTales. Formerly the Assistant Director of the Bombay Natural History Society, he played a pivotal role in creating North India's largest butterfly park at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary and has established over 85 butterfly parks nationwide. A proponent of biodiversity preservation, he has guided government restoration projects, initiated citizen science programs like Big Butterfly Month, and developed India’s first butterfly habitat in an industrial zone. Recognized with the Dr. B Kiowta Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, Sohail continues to advance conservation and environmental education across India.
The participants arrived by 08:45 am at the meeting point which was Nehar Sahibi farm. This particular workshop was scheduled to learn how to create bird-friendly spaces. The workshop started with a briefing about the ecologically rich Nehar Sahibi and the expectations of participants from the walk. Sohail sir led the walk explaining the species of birds and their preferred habitats. He gave insights on the different microhabitats of Nehar Sahibi.
Different species of trees were observed and how they help in the survival of birds. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about feeding behaviors of birds. Along with the birds, they also witnessed the newly emerging butterfly park and took notes on the importance of host plants. Later, participants were taught about citizen science. They were made aware of applications such as e-bird through which they may support citizen science. The cloudy weather restricted the movement of birds and butterflies throughout the farm.
The group led towards the Adi bagh at the end, where people learnt about bird hide photography. Discussion began on the importance of native species of flora. Dr. Rajesh Chowdhary ended the session with an amazing display of interaction between the Common Banded Awl butterfly and the leaves of its host plant Pongamia pinnata (Karanj). He demonstrated the protection mechanism and feeding behavior of caterpillars of commonly banded awl using the leaves of karanj.
Photos clicked, breakfast distributed and all left with a big smile on their faces as we ended the walk.
We thank Sohail Sir for his valuable guidance and a super fun and informative session for all the participants. Participants were amazed by seeing the conservation efforts that are being carried out at Nehar Sahibi. It was a walk full of adventure, thrill, and wonderful learning.
List of species spotted during the walk:
We observed species of trees & birds during the walk. Some notable species during the walk were:-
Birds:- Greenish warbler, Black kite, Silverbill, Rose-ringed parakeet, Jungle babbler, Plain Prinia, Ashy Prinia, Common tailorbird, Collared dove
Flora: Ber, Palash, Karanj, Sarkanda, Aak, Crotalaria, Vajradanti, Vetiver, Banana, Guava, Water lily, Jhau, Farash