A group of 16 women walked around Subhas Sarobar in Beleghata for about two hours on a Sunday morning looking for birds and insects and capturing them on their cameras or peering at them through their binoculars.

An All Women Nature Walk (AWNW) on August 25 was organised at the Sarobar grounds — home to many local avian species like cormorants, spotted doves, jungle mynahs apart from the slugs, snails, beetles and centipedes found on the ground.

Led and organised by Chai Eng Law, a nature lover and avid bird-watcher, AWNW was meant for women who enjoy being with nature and friends.

When asked why a women’s only walk was being organised, Chai, who started her hobby with treks and mountaineering, later focusing on bird-watching, said: “We want to create a safe space for women to explore nature, where we could be ourselves and do what we wanted. There might be women who are hesitant to be with unknown people, they feel psychologically safer being in a group of women.”

Great Egrets (left); Asian Openbill Stork (right top) and Blue-throated Barbet (right bottom) The Telegraph

Sunday’s walk was preceded by all women’s nature walks in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, said Chai.

“We in Calcutta had a mini all-women’s nature walk when two of us just turned up on July 27 at Rabindra Sarobar. Other participants could not join because of rain.”

Accompanying Chai was Hiya Chatterjee of the Bird Watchers’ Society. She also helped organise the Sunday’s walk.

Among the participants in the nature walk was Paramita Bhattacharya, a freelance photographer.

Armed with her Canon camera, she captured the Grey Herons and Openbill Storks that roosted on the island in the Sarobar.

“I lived in Diamond Harbour where I get very good sightings of birds. Now I travel everywhere on my own or join groups. I am still learning the ropes of photography,” said Paramita. If she isn’t joining a group, she can be found travelling alone or sometimes with her daughter.

The significant sightings on Sunday included the nesting activities of Asian Openbill Storks, as a large colony of them roosted on the island of the Sarobar. They flew in with nesting materials held in their bills and perched on the trees on the island. The group also spotted Grey Herons.

The other interesting find was a Golden Tortoiseshell Jewel Bug, a luminescent bug that vociferously feeds on leaves.

Most of the sightings were recorded in ebird, a platform created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Bird Count India, where members record their sightings for future research.