Bird race to be held today across MMR in new avatar | Mumbai News

Mumbai: The 21st annual popular birding event, Mumbai BirdRace, will be held on Sunday (Feb 16) in a new avatar as Wings – Birds Of India.
One of the main organisers, Sunjoy Monga, who is a naturalist and an author, said: “The Mumbai BirdRace began in 2005 when a small group of avid birdwatchers participated to spot various bird species in and around MMR areas. The event is now called Wings – Birds Of India, wherein the concept will remain the same.”
Monga added that the popularity of BirdRaces spread to other cities as well, like Bengaluru, Pune, and Delhi, among others, over the years.
“This year at the Mumbai Wings event, our focus will be on how to preserve dwindling wetlands, grasslands, and vulnerable DPS Lake at Seawoods and Lokhandwala Lake in Mumbai. The various bird teams will scan locations like Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Karnala Bird Sanctuary, coastal mangroves, and other water bodies to spot birds and report the same. It will be a day-long birding process,” said Monga.
The participating teams will later meet to discuss their findings.
“Besides spotting wetland birds like flamingos, ducks, waders, and kingfishers, it is exciting to note that some rarely seen bird species are also noticed during this time. Last month, a very rare Himalayan Vulture was spotted and rescued from Chirner in Uran,” said Monga.