Members of Kudla Birders in action during the bird count at Bondel-Manjalpade in Mangaluru on Sunday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Fifteen members of the informal birding group, ‘Kudla Birders,’ recorded 73 bird species during an outing to the wetlands of Manjalpaade and Bondel in Mangaluru on Sunday.The bird count was organised as part of the Karnataka Rajyotsava Bird Count 2026, a State-wide citizen-science initiative organised by Bird Count India, said a release. The Black Hooded Oriole, photographed by Pranav. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The morning’s sightings were documented through an e-Bird checklist.
Notable species included the Grey-headed Bulbul and Malabar Flameback, both endemic to the Western Ghats, along with the Western Marsh Harrier, Changeable Hawk-Eagle and Black-throated Munia.Deepika Prasad, M. Vivek and Rohit S.
Rao of Kudla Birders coordinated the outing. The walk was led by Mr.
Rao, who has been observing the birdlife of the Manjalpaade area for more than 40 years. Black throated Munia, photographed by Rohit S.
Rao. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Mr. Rao said that Mangaluru had several small pockets of natural habitat, such as Manjalpaade, which supported a surprising variety of birds and other wildlife. “Many of these spaces are increasingly coming under pressure from urbanisation, trespassing and littering, making greater public awareness and collective efforts to protect them essential,” he said.Through its participation in the State-wide count, Kudla Birders hopes to encourage wider public interest in birdwatching while highlighting the ecological importance of Mangaluru’s urban forest patches and wetlands and the need to conserve them for future generations.
Published - November 02, 2026 09:41 pm IST