Life Beyond 'The Research'!

I am no experienced researcher, nor am I a seasoned professional. I am at the most a passionate naturalist, attempting to perform a certain activity the scientific community tags as research. This is what I have learned...

- Munib Khanyari

I have, through my few years of experience, realised the joy of this field, especially if it is outdoors and on a subject that I really find interesting. But the more I go out to collect data, the more I realise it’s the process of observing the world around me that yields quite often the most interesting, intriguing and thought-provoking information.

THE SEARCH BEGINS

Recently, I assisted a friend, who was part of a study on the Andaman Serpent Eagle Spilornis elgini conducted by the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON). A team of two individuals and I had to walk randomly selected 5 km. x 5 km. grids across the Andaman Island to record this endemic raptor. This basically meant hours on hours of walking through forests, mangroves, farmland and sometimes, even paved roads, to record this majestic bird.

Little did we realise that our minds were soon tuned to one sole objective ‘find the Andaman Serpent Eagle’. That became both our mission and our obsession. Hours turned into days and days into weeks. Sightings were frequent yet not entirely convincing (apart from a few individuals who stuck around for us to have a very clear look at them).

WHAT I LEARNED