Birds are the beautiful part of our nature. Due to technological advancement and our current lifestyle, their importance seems to be minimal. Birds play prime importance in humans life as we obtain eggs, meat, also helpful in pollination to increase the productivity of crop, pest and rodent control, seed propagation, maintain the food chain in the ecosystem as well as their presence also increase the beauty of the nature. Dr. Kalsi with students and staff of Zoology department, observed many different types of birds on the foot path and the cropland of the Akal University by using binoculars. The birds observed were Alexandrine parakeet (Psittacula eupatria), Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis), Red Lapwing (Vanellus indicus), Shikra (Accipiter badius), Ringed Dove (Columba palumbus), Great Couchal (Centropus sinensis), Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer), greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides), White wagtail (Motacilla alba), Rock Pigeon (Columba livia domestica), Pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) and Blue-eared kingfisher (Alcedo meninting).
Dr. Rajiv Kalsi, an eminent mentor gave a brief introduction to students, who were gathered in front of the girl’s hostel gate at 7:00 am about bird watching. Dr. Kalsi told the students about the importance of getting up early in the morning and observing nature. He laid emphasis on various methods of bird watching and the importance of recording the voice of birds which is a great tool in bird identification. In his talk, he told the students how to record the data after every observation. After the introductory part Dr. Kalsi moved forward along with the students on the foot path and the cropland of the Akal University and made the students to observe various birds using binoculars. Students recorded the data on their notebooks and asked many questions to Dr. Kalsi about the identification of birds such as how we can make out the name of a bird?, How many species of birds are in our region?, how can we conduct research on birds?. Dr. Kalsi also discussed about the migration in birds and importance of winter migration. He also told about the breeding and parental care in birds. Students enjoyed the activity as it was very informative and they learnt a new approach in science.
