On a quiet March morning in 2023, two young birders, Yudish and Ankit, stood motionless near Haiderpur Wetland in western Uttar Pradesh, binoculars trained on a distant sandbar. “Is that… an Indian Skimmer?" one whispered.

It was a breath-taking moment. The rare Schedule I bird, which numbered between 3,700 and 4,400 globally as of 2021, had returned to breed in India’s Ganga basin.

The Indian Skimmer, a striking black and white bird with a long orange bill, is a low flyer, with its lower mandible slicing the water to ‘skim’ for fish. It breeds only on undisturbed sandbars in large rivers and wetlands. However, it faces grave threats from habitat loss, lack of awareness among riverine communities, flooding or even the slightest fluctuations in water levels.

Driven by this urgency, Ashish Loya, a BITS Pilani alumnus and former finance professional in New York, sprang into action. An Art of Living teacher and a long-time birdwatcher, Loya had been documenting the Haiderpur Wetland’s biodiversity for years. He was inspired by spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s message that “every creature on the planet brings a certain vibration. And even if one creature goes missing, the planet would be poorer for it. Every species plays an important role in maintaining the balance on the planet". Loya believed this was a test of both nature and spirit.

Upon being informed about the sighting by Yudish, Loya knew he had to........

© News18