Pelicans, Egrets, Cormorants, Grey Wagtails are just some of the birds you’re likely to read about in the 10 year old Yahoo! Group bngbirds. This group is moderated by Dr. Krishna MB, an ex-researcher from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He has been a part of the bird-watching group in Bangalore since 1974, much before the rise of the Internet. At that time, his group members used to communicate about their bird watching outings via post cards. Interestingly, there was free software available for printing cards in 1993 with a very unique downloading condition. One had to send a picture postcard from one’s country to the author before one could download it

Krishna felt that stray information collected everyday is lost if not filed immediately. The same can be consolidated later for research papers. Therefore, he extended his passion for bird watching with others in an online group on One List, later known as e-groups, which was acquired by Yahoo! The group, 1200 members strong, not only discusses birds but also encourages information on wildlife and the ecology. Both academics and amateurs from India, UK, US, Iceland, Australia, Brazil and Egypt, in fact almost every birdwatcher who is likely to visit Bangalore is a part of this group.

The group goes out for bird watching every first and second Sunday of the month to Hebbal lake and Lal Bagh in Bangalore. The main objective for these outings is to teach kids about birds and de-stress many from week long jobs.

To know more about bird watching events and birds, join the Yahoo! Group bngbirds. If you want to share an interesting story of your Yahoo! Group, please send it to us at groups@yahoo-inc.com Stay tuned for our next coverage.

Thanks!
Shefali
Yahoo! Groups India Community Manager

Did you know keeping gold fish in a bowl is illegal in Monza, Italy? We didn’t know until we meet Rajendra Kumar GG fondly knows as Raj amongst more than 600 members of his group A-s-k, who explained to us that the size of the bowl is torture for fish. Raj, 52, a coffee planter and an electronics engineer by profession is a technical aquarist since the 1960s. He has 15 tanks and a small pond where he breeds many varieties of fish. He was a member of an international group but many tips discussed there were not relevant to him as the filters, tanks discussed in the group were not available in India. He started his own group to share links and information amongst members of Aquarium Society of Karnataka. Soon he started receiving enquiries from other parts of India and eventually he opened his group under strict moderation for all the hobbyists who care for their fish and aqua plants.

A-s-k is a great source of information on maintaining a healthy aqua environment for the tank at your home; be it filter, lighting, fish food, plantation or any other factor. According to Raj, fish starts dying in the initial 2 hours of their purchase if one doesn’t take proper care of them. Even the local shop-keepers of fish tanks don’t have adequate information on all the technical aspects. Many members join the group when their fish are dying so the moment one joins the group, one receives a note for immediate actions for one’s fish tank along with Raj’s phone number .

We met Raj in Bangalore over a cup of coffee and got to know some interesting facts. Most common reason for fish dying in the tank is ammonia. When the fish are fed, they digest the food and excrete waste into the water. The nitrogenous element in the waste breaks down to ammonia, which becomes toxic for the fish in less than a day and fish starts to die. To avoid this, one has to establish nitrogen cycle in the tank. This cycle converts ammonia to Nitrite and finally to Nitrate, which is less poisonous and can be absorbed by the plants and algae in the tank. Bacteria that help in speeding up this nitrogen cycle can be raised on the filters of tank. Raj helps his group members personally making those filters ready for his member’s tank.

To know more about fish tanks and aqua plants, join the Yahoo! Group A-s-k . If you want to share an interesting story of your Yahoo! Group, please send it to us at groups@yahoo-inc.com Stay tuned for our next coverage.

Thanks!
Shefali
Yahoo! Groups India Community Manager