Guwahati: A two-day drive titled Birds, People & Open-Knowledge aimed to boost avian documentation in Assam. The project kicked off on November 6 at Debraj Roy College. It wrapped up with a field session at Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary on November 7. Organizers included Wiki Loves Birds, Avian Archive of Assam, Golaghat Nature Connect, Avian Society, and the college's Zoology Department.
About 50 people showed up, with 30 registered attendees. Rajib Basumatary, who leads the college zoology wing, urged the crowd to push for more recognition for Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary. He wants it to reach the status of Manas or Kaziranga. Nethi Sai Kiran, a veteran Wikimedian, taught the group how to upload data and photos to Wikimedia Commons.
Birder Firoz Hussain highlighted threatened species during his presentation. He also handed out ZEISS gear to the group. Kumar Kishore Kalita, a Nikon Northeast India lead, ran a photography workshop. Nikon supplied high-end equipment like Z9 and Z8 bodies, plus long lenses and binoculars. The Assam Birds Monitoring Network gave out badges.
Eighteen people trekked through Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary on the final day. They spotted 30 bird species and snapped photos of 10. As Rajib Basumatary noted during the event, "Every bird photographed, every species identified and every observation recorded can help tell a larger story about Assam’s rich natural heritage." Organizers hope this push makes biodiversity data easier for the public to find.
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