The Guiding Factor.

It's been mostly a decade since I started this hobby of bird watching, its full of fun since day one. The avian wonders fascinates me to a greater extent. Now, as a beginner anyone in that position would look out for a guiding factor who guides you in best possible way.

For me it was all internet. I started knowing about wildlife through a non commercial forum by name indianaturewatch.net. I still visit the site whenever I find time to go through the trip reports, good pictures of birds and mammals and other interesting things about wildlife. Its an online encyclopedia of Indian wildlife. It was through this site I got hooked onto bng_birds yahoo group, which again is an informal group of birders in Bengaluru. That's where I met some amazing personalities.

Now you may ask, is there a need for a guide? Well, there are several reasons to justify that but I have outlined the important ones:-

• You may end up learning a little more about a specie or its habitat if you go along with a bird guide.
• Forests are always misleading. Sometimes you tend to lose your way in deep forests scouting for a specie. A bird guide just not helps in identifying the endemic specie but also ensures that you are on the right track during the trail. 
• A bird guide would help you in educating the bio diversity of the place that you have visited. That additional knowledge helps you in understanding the place much better than what you already knew.
• Above all a bird guide will help in letting you know the DOs and DONTs of birding. Let me just say that they encourage ethical wildlife/birding/photography.

Am introducing some of them whom I think are great and helps the community in practicing ethical birding.

1: Deepa Mohan.

I probably met Deepa in the year 2012 at The Valley school. I was startled by the energy the lady had (matter of fact, she still has), age is just a number for her. I was new to the forests of the Valley school which was much thicker than what it is right now. She ensured to address the group about the birds usually found in the Valley school area. I have been birding with her from past few years and I must say I have learnt a lot from her. She never missed a chance in sharing the knowledge about birds, flora, insects, plants, mammals etc and I never missed a chance to grab that knowledge from her. 

So, meet this ever smiling kind lady whenever its possible and make sure you go on a nature walk with her, am sure you'd enjoy it..!

She lives in Bengaluru and can be reached at : mohandeepa@gmail.com

Deepa Maami loves Trees.

2: Sudha-amma and Gireesh.

Lush green tropical forests of Thattekad in Kerala is a birders haven. The bird man of India, Dr.Salim Ali used to visit this place several times in a year to conduct extensive research on the endemic species of southern India. Thattekad has a bird sanctuary named after him as a mark of respect towards his work on birds of Indian subcontinent. This place never disappoints the avian community. Hence, over the years Thattekad hosts thousands of local and foreign bird lovers. Naturally, when the tourists increase there are opportunities for employment in the form of Bird guides. Now what we have to understand is how ethical the bird guide is, rather than how efficient that person is in showing the endemic species to the tourists.

There have been reports that some of them are practicing unethical birding to attract visitors to their stay(s). Unethical birding includes feeding the resident and migratory birds. The visitors do get attracted because of the fact that the birds would visit the place to feed on ready food. Obviously there is ample opportunity for photography.

The flip side of this practice is that the birds are getting distracted and as well become lazy. This practice is making the birds more attracted towards easy feed than migrating or searching for food on its own. So basically, the migratory birds wouldnt leave the place because of unlimited food available already. The result is that the nature of the specie is being changed constantly. 

Setting above crowd aside, there is one family which strongly believes in Ethical birding. Gireesh and his mother Sudha have been guiding bird lovers since 20 years now. Although Gireesh practices as an advocate, his passion towards Birding has been phenomenal. He is an excellent spotter of birds and carries abundant knowledge of birds of Indian subcontinent.

Sudha-amma with her son Gireesh in front of their Jungle Bird Homestay.

 What impressed me is the way they treat their guests. They just do not help in spotting the birds, they would also help in understanding the importance of its habitat and how it is getting destroyed in many forms. Gireesh's work have been aired in Animal Planet for his profound work on preserving the habitat. 

You may reach Gireesh @ http://junglebirdhomestay.blogspot.com/

3: Ajith Hegde.

The place where Hornbills are found in numbers, Dandeli. I have been visiting Dandeli since my childhood and its one of the pristine forests you could find in southern India.
Situated inside the core area of Kali Tiger Reserve, Amara homestay offers the best birding experience, food and shelter.
I have been a regular visitor to Amara since 2014 and its wonderful to stay there. Mr. Ramachandra Hegde and his family practices self sustaining model which is the main objective of eco tourism.
I met Ajith Hegde, S/o Ramachandra Hegde in 2016 when I made a trip to Dandeli with my team. Amateur he was then but very keen to learn about birds around him, I am impressed the way he has transformed himself into an awesome birder now.
He keeps a tab on the climatic variations and its side effects on bio diversity. He keeps a close watch on the residents and migratory species, especially The Great Indian Hornbill. His interests towards protecting the habitat is widely appreciated. He is good in spotting the birds and can track its movements pretty well.

Ajith Hegde in front of his homestay. Very friendly and charming person. 

You may reach Ajith @ https://dandeliamara.com/

Likewise, there are many good people around us who encourage ethical wildlife and have been contributing a lot to the wildlife fraternity. Some day in my tenure, I hope to meet them all and learn something new from them.