The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on birding and birds in India

Abstract:

Across India, many birdwatchers upload their observations to the citizen science platform eBird, enabling analyses and annual comparisons of bird abundance that inform national conservation policy. The reliability of such comparisons is contingent on birdwatcher behaviour and bird behaviour remaining relatively unchanged between years. During the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, human activities were curtailed, and lifestyles modified, probably impacting where, when, and how birdwatchers observe birds. As a consequence of reduced human impact on the environment such as ambient noise, bird behaviour may also have changed. We explored how the pandemic, and associated restrictions, have affected birdwatcher and bird behaviour in India so that any changes in bird abundance during the pandemic years can be meaningfully interpreted. We specifically compared the quantity and quality of data uploaded during the pandemic with the years that immediately preceded and succeeded it. We found that the pandemic did not lower data quantity, but instead coincided with a general rise in the number of birdwatchers using the platform. We, however, found differences in data quality. Although the average person continued to spend similar amounts of time observing birds, the activity was now associated with decreased overall mobility (less travel and more site fidelity) and smaller groups. The total area covered by birdwatchers did not change but was more biased toward urban landscapes. Seasonal and state-level idiosyncrasies were prevalent in all the patterns, reflecting differences in government response and handling of the pandemic, severity of the disease, and perhaps general attitudes of the public. We also conducted a small experiment to examine impacts of noise on bird activity during a day-long ‘national lockdown’ and found that birdwatchers observed more bird species during the lockdown than before or after.