Shillong, Feb 10: As the global Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) returns between February 13–16, campuses across India are gearing up for the Campus Bird Count.
Campus Bird Count is a sister event of GBBC that is unique to India and organised by Bird Count India in collaboration with WWF India and Foundation for Ecological Security (FES).
Building on last year’s remarkable engagement, when more than 270 campuses uploaded over 8,000 bird lists, campus communities nationwide are once again taking the lead in documenting birds.
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Beyond protected areas
From engineering colleges in Pune to architecture programmes in Kerala, from schools in Chhattisgarh to garden campuses in Delhi, from universities in Mizoram to sprawling campuses in Gujarat, thousands of students, faculty and staff are monitoring birds in green spaces.
Some of these are informal patches—courtyards, heritage groves, and tree-lined pathways—that have emerged as vital habitats beyond protected areas, often the last strongholds of biodiversity in India’s increasingly built-up cities and towns.
“Taking part in this event inspired us to think about birds, notice them, and even rescue injured ones,” said Siddharth Singh Bawa, a student of Class XI from The Doon School, Dehradun.
Last year, bird and nature enthusiasts from every state and union territory participated in the GBBC, with more than 10,000 people from all age groups and all walks of life engaged in watching and appreciating birds.
GBBC is an annual global event that engages bird enthusiasts of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.
How to participate
Watch birds anywhere on your campus—courtyards, gardens, pathways, or near water bodies—for at least 15 minutes during February 13–16. Identify all birds seen or heard and share your sightings using the eBird App.
For guidance, support and queries, connect with GBBC State Coordinators in your region from this link: https://birdcount.in/counts/gbbc/
You can also find a local campus event near you from this link: https://birdcount.in/counts/campus-bird-count/
