Gaurav Chitale
At a dawn seawatch, Gaurav Chitale once added a probable species to his life list from one distant call and announced the new total before the recording was checked. He spent years transcribing courtroom testimony at a pace set by objections, and he has never again counted a bird until the evidence and checklist status agree.
Articles by Gaurav Chitale
PhD Student's Entire Thesis Rests on One Bird Showing Up Again
The tagged reed warbler has not returned to its breeding site for the second consecutive spring, and the student describes his doctoral timeline as 'entirely dependent on the migration decisions of a 12-gram bird.'
Endangered Woodpecker Located After 40-Year Search, Found in Birdwatcher's Backyard the Entire Time
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker has apparently been living in the dead oak behind the house of the man who led the search expedition, which he described as 'personally devastating.'
Local Birder Identifies New Species, Turns Out to Be a Leaf
The amateur ornithologist spent 14 hours in a hide documenting what experts have confirmed is 'a slightly unusual sycamore leaf caught in an updraft.'