A bird survey is being conducted at the Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Maharashtra as part of the “citizen science” model with an aim to create baseline data of bird diversity and density, an official said. More than 125 volunteers, in the age group of 18 to 74 years, from 11 states were participating in the three-day bird survey which began on Friday, PTR’s deputy director Dr Prabhunath Shukla said in a release on Saturday. Shukla claimed this was one of the largest “citizen science” initiatives in central India and the first in Maharashtra.

“The aim is to create a baseline data on bird diversity and density using the citizen science model. Citizen Science events are widely used in western countries and are recently being used in many parts of India to collaborate and contribute in large-scale data collection on various biodiversity surveys,” he said. “This gives a new discipline in changing the scientific landscape for scientific community and spread conservation awareness to a broader community,” he said.