Finding the diversity of avifauna at Makini

The Makini philosophy revolves around the conservation and improvement of a balanced ecosystem, which includes all flora and fauna, in and around the camp. We have already commenced several conservation projects aimed at identifying habitats of different avian and mammalian species within the campsite. It is equally important to collect as much data as possible to measure the success of our conservation activities pre and post implementation. This includes observations and indicators documented under varying conditions and seasons. The first such initiative was a bird species and number count, done within a 4-hour period within the camp and surrounding areas.

Bird Count

Counting individual birds we see is a daunting task, but it can give valuable information on population density and causes that would grow or shrink the bird population. These changes may indicate shifts in climate change, habitat loss, pollution levels, migration timing, and more. Accuracy of the figures and taking the count routinely is important for the success of this conservation project.

Techniques for Counting Birds

There are many ways to count birds depending on the birds around, how they behave, and the size of the flock. Following are some techniques we looked at to carry out the counting exercise.

Through Photographs - You take a digital photograph of a bird flock and count individuals on a computer screen or a printed version of the photo. Photographing is one of the most accurate and reliable ways of counting as it gives the precise count, but the downside is that it's time-consuming and takes a lot of effort and resources.e count, but the downside is that it's time-consuming and takes a lot of effort and resources.

Individual Counts  - You roam around the selected area during dawn and dusk, when birds are most active and take a visual count on different bird varieties. The individual count is a practical technique and you only need a pair of binoculars and a notebook.

Grids - Grid technique is suitable to count large single species bird flocks where birds are relatively stationary. The field of view is divided into a grid, takes the count of one section, and multiplied by the total number of grid sections.

Timing - The timing technique is used to count fast-moving large bird flocks, where the Grid and Individual counting is impossible. The timing method focuses on a fixed point the flock is passing and counts the number of birds to pass that point in a certain period. Then the entire amount of time it takes for the whole flock to pass is recorded, and the count is multiplied by the number of increments in that overall time to measure its full size.

After careful evaluation of the above methods, we went ahead with Individual counting as it seems the most practical way to get the first bird count within and around the camp. After spending a total of about 4 hours -- 2 hours in the early morning and 2 hours during late afternoon, we were able to record the species listed below.

1. Sri Lankan Junglefowl
2. Peafowl
3. Lesser Whistling Duck
4. Painted Stork
5. Asian openbill
6. Eurasian Spoonbill
7. Indian Pond Heron
8. Gray Heron
9. Cattle Egret
10. Little Egret
11. Intermediate Egret
12. Indian Cormorant
13. Shikra
14. Brahminy Kite
15. White-bellied Sea-eagle
16. Grey-headed Fish-eagle
17. White-breasted Waterhen
18. Indian Thick-knee
19. Great Thick-knee
20. Black-winged Stilt
21. Red-wattled Lapwing
22. Whiskered Tern
23. Spotted Dove
24. Rock Pigeon
25. Emerald Dove
26. Green Imperial-pigeon
27. Sri Lanka Green-pigeon
28. Rose-ringed Parakeet
29. Alexandrine Parakeet
30. Plum-headed Parakeet
31. Blue-faced Malkoha
32. Pied Cuckoo
33. Greater Coucal
34. Crested Treeswift
35. Green Bee-eater
36. Common Kingfisher
37. Oriental Scops Owl
38. Brown-headed Barbet
39. Coppersmith Barbet
40. Yellow-crowned Woodpecker
41. Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker
42. Jerdon's Nightjar
43. Indian Nightjar
44. Brown Shrike
45. Small Minivet
46. Common Iora
47. Black-hooded Oriole
48. Sri Lanka Woodshrike
49. Indian Pitta
50. White-browed Bulbul
51. Red-vented Bulbul
52. Ashy Prinia
53. Plain Prinia
54. Common Tailorbird
55. Dark fronted babbler
56. Yellow-billed babbler
57. Brown-capped babbler
58. White-rumped Shama
59. Magpie Robin
60. Indian Robin
61. Purple-rumped Sunbird
62. Purple Sunbird
63. Long-billed Sunbird
64. Scaly-breasted Munia
65. Malabar Pied Hornbill
66. Gray Hornbill
67. Golden-fronted Leafbird

Being able to record 67 bird varieties including 5 endemic species within 4 hours is just amazing! It is a clear indication about the richness of the habitat around the camp and at the same time, emphasises the importance of preserving this ecosystem. We're committed to continuing this effort routinely to capture behaviours corresponding to shifts in weather, migrations, etc., to monitor how the bird population responds to varying natural conditions. We plan to use different counting and analysing methods for more accurate results and hoping to see some interesting patterns. Subscribe and stay connected with us, as we'll be publishing our findings through this blog and you'll be the first to know.