Our friends at Mongabay India have created this fantastic video about a little bird called the grey wagtail.
In winter this migratory bird flies from the upper Himalayas to warmer areas, like Valparai in south India. That’s a big journey!
Click below to learn more about this bird and the school kids who celebrate its yearly visits:
Ideas for kids (and their adults):
1. Create a poster!
Is there an animal or plant species that is special or celebrated in your village, town, or city? Like the kids in Valparai, make a poster celebrating your chosen species. Make it awesome, fun, and bright. Ask if you can post it at school or at local business like a cafe. That way, others can celebrate this animal or plant too.
2. Keep a bird list
Find a bird book (or an online field guide) about the birds that visit your local area. Start keeping a bird list – a list of all the birds that you have seen. If you have them, binoculars are a good tool for birdwatching. Birdwatching is a fun, relaxing hobby that gets you outside and connects you with nature.
You can contribute to research by sharing your bird list with scientists via an app such as eBird, iNaturalist or others. That is called citizen science!
For more on the story of the grey wagtails of Valparai, visit Mongabay India:
https://india.mongabay.com/2021/03/video-a-wagtail-on-shared-space-birdwatching-and-hope/
