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1 Sq.Km - 79 Bird Species, and Counting

The leafy lanes and by-lanes of Chanakyapuri in central Delhi are the abode of the ‘envoys’ - diplomatic representatives from around the world posted in India. But these very lanes and by-lanes and the vast expanse of green spaces ensconsced within the spacious Embassies and the parks in between, also house an incredible array of ‘winged envoys’ - birds of varying hues and habits. Like their diplomatic counterparts, these winged residents of Chanakyapuri also come in a wide variety, multi-colored and multi-faceted, some permanent residents, and many more peripatetic, calling Chanakyapuri their home for a while before moving on.

This project, undertaken as my ‘Venture’ as part of Class 7 of the Kamalnayan Bajaj Aspen Fellowship, aims to explore and photo-catalogue the winged envoys of Chanakyapuri.

What began as an observation during a morning walk (see my Blog), transformed into a self-challenge and has finally fructified into this online repository.

90% of the birds in this project have been observed and photographed inside or within a 500 m radius of the Ministry of External Affairs’ Residence Complex on Radhakrishnan Marg. 6 species a little farther off around the vistas of North & South Block (my office).

But, this is not bird-watching in its strictest sense.

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Hiding in plain sight, or Eyes wide shut?

Like most good things in life, this too started on a morning walk. A morning jog, to be precise.

Almost ten years ago, while living in the same neighborhood, I realized one morning that I could identify 10 different kinds of birds. This was a casual observation while jogging and with naked eyes. No cameras, no binoculars.

This set me thinking. If one could observe 10 species so nonchalantly, without any preparation, how many could one discover with a little more concerted effort. Moreover, while the crows and mynas were ubiquitous, which were the other winged wonders hiding in plain sight?

And that really became the idée centrale for this project: Birds hiding in plain sight. Except of course it is not the birds that are hiding, it is us that live with our eyes wide shut.

For most of us who live in crowded urban neighborhoods, a bird is our most common and ubiquitous neighbor - be it a chattering myna, a cawing crow, a coquettish bulbul, a soaring kite or indeed in much of North India, a prancing peacock. Just that we don't pay much attention to them.

Birds are however our true neighbors, occupying and often sharing the same ecological space as we do.

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