Since 2007 MigrantWatch has brought together hundreds of birders across India to pool their observations of migratory birds. Over the years, our enthusiastic participants have collectively contributed more than 20,000 records of nearly 250 bird species. The idea of collecting all this information in one place is to document patterns of bird migration in the Indian subcontinent.

To mark the completion of 5 years of MigrantWatch, we have put together a brief summary of the migration patterns that are emerging. We hope you will enjoy it, and will tell your other birding friends about it too.

You can download a soft copy of the summary here [PDF, 2.9 MB; right-click to save it]. We have also printed a set of copies, and if you would like a hardcopy of the summary, just mail your postal address to us at mw@migrantwatch.in, and we will be happy to send you a copy.

A big ‘Thank You!’ to all participants and contributors, and we look forward to working with you for the next five years!

The February 2013 issue of the monthly round-up of the latest news at MigrantWatch has been sent to all participants. If you are registered with us, but haven’t received this email, please check your spam folder; and add mw@migrantwatch.in to your address book. Do send us a message if you have any questions.

More than 200 birders from all across India participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count held between 15th and 18th February. This year’s event (which until last year had been largely a North American affair) was conducted globally for the first time. Indian birdwatchers put up a wonderful show. A summary of the first Indian edition of the Great Backyard Bird Count can be viewed here.

Another event – the Big Bird Day – was celebrated on 24th February. Coordinated by Delhibird, more than 300 individuals and teams birded at various locations across India and recorded all birds they could see on that Sunday. More details are available here.

We reached another milestone on MigrantWatch with Dr. Jayant Wadatkar’s sighting of Garganey at Wadali Tank, near Amravati, Maharashtra, on 10 February, 2013. Dr. Wadatkar sighted eight migrants (including Garganey) during this visit. This was the 20,000th record to be uploaded on MigrantWatch. By strange coincidence the 10,000th, 15,000th and 20,000th sightings have all come from Amravati, Maharashtra, while 15,000th and 20,000th sightings have been reported by the same person – Dr. Jayant Wadatkar!

Congratulations to all MigrantWatchers who helped in reaching this landmark!

The January 2013 issue of the monthly round-up of the latest news at MigrantWatch has been sent to all participants. If you are registered with us, but haven’t received this email, please check your spam folder; and add mw@migrantwatch.in to your address book. Do send us a message if you have any questions.

The December 2012 issue of the monthly round-up of the latest news at MigrantWatch has been sent to all participants. If you are registered with us, but haven’t received this email, please check your spam folder; and add mw@migrantwatch.in to your address book. Do send us a message if you have any questions.

The November issue of monthly round-up of the latest at MigrantWatch has been sent to all participants. If you are registered with us, but haven’t received this email, please check your spam folder; and add mw@migrantwatch.in to your address book. Do send us a message if you have any questions.

The monthly round-up of what’s been happening at MigrantWatch has just been sent to all participants. If you are registered with us, but haven’t received this email, please check your spam folder; and add mw@migrantwatch.in to your address book. Do send us a message if you have any questions.

Conservation India reports on the mass-hunting of migrating Amur Falcons in Nagaland. These superb little raptors migrate from their breeding grounds in and around northeastern China all the way through India and to their wintering quarters in southern Africa. Along the way they gather in large numbers in northeastern India, where they are vulnerable to being caught.

Please check the Conservation India site for further updates on the situation. And in the meantime, do report your Amur Falcon sightings to MigrantWatch so that information on the occurrence and migration of this beautiful bird is available in one place. If you have seen large numbers congregating in one place, and are concerned about making this information public, please do contact us over email: mw@migrantwatch.in

From the MigrantWatch Newsletter, September 2012
It has been just over five years since MigrantWatch began, and we are in the process of compiling all records from the first 5 years into a report. In case there are observations that you have not yet uploaded we request you to please do so. This will enable your records to be included in the report. Watch out for more updates on the report.

Have you been receiving the MigrantWatch newsletter? If you are registered with us, but have not been receiving the monthly newsletter, you can view the September edition here. Please also add mw@migrantwatch.in to your address book so that mail from us doesn’t get wrongly marked as spam.