Events for January 2026

Bangalore Bird Day, is celebrated in the first week of October to remember Dr. Joseph George (01-10-1921 to 09-07-2012), the doyen of the group birdwatching movement in Bangalore. Dr. George led a motley group of people in Bangalore from 1972, though the 1980s and until about the mid-1990s, to spread the joy of birdwatching. The day marks the birth anniversary of Joseph George, who is considered the pioneer of group birdwatching efforts in India. He started an informal birdwatching group in Bengaluru in 1972 called the Birdwatchers’ Field Club of Bangalore, which, with the passage of time and the birth of technology also branched into the online Yahoo group 'bngbirds' by 1999. Joseph George, an organic chemist, had many research papers on birds to his credit. He started group bird watching activities as early as the 1940s in Dehradun, where he was posted at the Forest Research Institute. Veteran birders remember him for the way he encouraged them to make their own observations, always emphasizing that contributions to a knowledge base on birds could be done by anyone, and not just scientists. Bangalore Bird Day has been celebrated since 2014 around October 1st, to remember Dr. George and his contributions.