Pongal Bird Count (PBC)

Why in News?

Recently, the Pongal Bird Count completed its 10 years.

• PBC – It is an initiative of the Tamil Birders Network.
• It is an annual bird monitoring programme for the state of Tamil Nadu.
• 1^st PBC – It was conducted in 2015.
• Time period – It happens every year during the Pongal Festival which falls in January.
• Purpose – To know the snapshot of distribution and abundance of the birds of Tamil Nadu.

Pongal Bird Count (PBC), 2025

• Organized by – Tamil Birders Network.
  • Bird Count India.
• Total bird species – 332, were spotted across the state.

• Decline in bird count – The number of birds is lower during this year, where last year a total of 345 bird species spotted.
• Reasons – It attributed to many reasons including,
  • Rains and unscientific de-silting of water bodies that wiped off natural vegetation from the bunds.
  • Dumping waste in lakes unaware of the presence of domestic and migratory birds.
  • Copious water in the lakes.
  • Brimming lakes.

References

1. The Hindu| Pongal Bird Count 10 years  
2. The New Indian Express| Species spotted during Pongal bird count
3. BCI| Pongal Bird Count