Eighth Buxa Bird Festival to begin from January 6

Alipurduar: After seven successful editions, the eighth Buxa Bird Festival—one of the most prominent government-backed birding events in eastern India—will begin inside the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) from January 6.

The four-day festival will continue till January 9 and will be conducted under strict forest and safety guidelines.

Launched in 2017 to highlight Buxa’s rich avian diversity, the festival has gained national and international recognition among bird enthusiasts. This year, the main camping site has been set up at Jayanti, adjacent to the forest range office.

Birdwatchers will have three-and-a-half days to explore the reserve with the objective of documenting as many bird species as possible and enriching Buxa’s bird checklist. At present, over 450 bird species have been recorded in the BTR. Spread across hills, plains and wetlands, the reserve offers year-round birding opportunities. Winter provides favourable conditions due to leaf fall, and experts have ruled out the possibility of dense fog during the festival period.

Participation has been kept limited, and coordination with experts and resource persons has been completed.

At least six technical sessions will be held during the festival. Four designated birding routes have been identified inside the forest, offering sightings of birds of prey, multiple hornbill species, and migratory ducks at Nararthali Beel. In the previous two editions, five to six extremely rare bird species were recorded. Deputy Field Director (East) of BTR, Debashish Sharma, said: “We are hopeful that nature will remain favourable. Fog will not be a problem. Our target is to spot at least 300 bird species in three and a half days, and sightings of some very rare species are also possible.”

Animesh Basu, coordinator of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF), highlighted the festival’s growing significance.