Winter bird count 2016 @ Kole wetlands, Thrissur, Kerala

Kole wetlands of Thrissur is a Ramsar site and an important bird area (IBA). Counting and monitoring Water bird population started as early as 1987. Usually water bird count is conducted in the month of January, which coincides with the Asian Waterbird Census. Ever since the popularity of bird watching increased all over Kerala thanks to various initiatives like Kerala Bird Atlas, Onam Bird Count, Great Backyard Bird Count etc, Kole wetlands are being monitored in greater detail throughout the year by interested bird watchers. It has long been observed that bird populations at individual sites within Kole are affected by land conditions of the wetland. After the onset of monsoon, migratory birds populate Kole where land conditions are made favorable by farming activities like draining, plowing etc. Peak bird activity generally occurs during months of Oct-Nov when land is prepared for paddy cultivation. But timing of paddy cultivation is affected by multiple factors like rainfall, time and effort taken to drain the flooded land, government policies among many others.
It is in this context, we thought of conducting a Pre- Asian Waterbird Census. It was Dr. Nameer who catalyzed our thoughts and around 20 volunteer bird watchers joined from all over Kerala in quickly organized survey supported Kerala Forest department.
61 wetland species of birds were observed, with a total count of 20,251 birds. We surveyed 5 usual AWC locations where bird activity is known to be at its peak.