Mr Binanda Hatibaruah started off his passion for birds as a boatman ferrying tourist on the Maguri Beel and showing them the migratory birds that frequent the waterbody and the adjoining grasslands of Maguri and Motapung. This was in the year 2000 and during the last 2 decades Mr Hatibaurah has moved on to be one of the best bird guides operating in the North East of India. His passion for birds and conservation of avifauna has earned him many accolades from the conservation fraternity as well as recognition and appreciation from the Forest Department and the Tourism Departments of the State of Assam. Very recently in January of 2023, he has been awarded the “Assam Gaurav” award, the 3rd ranking State Civilian Award by the Government of Assam as a birdwatcher. This is a first where any state government in India has felicitated a bird watcher by conferring such a prestigious award.
He is also frequently approached by the Forest Department of the Government of Assam to survey local Reserved Forests for Avifauna and prepare a checklist of birds for those areas. Apart from that he has co-authored a book on the Birds of Maguri and Motapung as well has mentions in many scientific papers on rare bird sightings in North East India.
The book “Birding without Borders” by Noah Strycker also has significant mentions about Mr Hatibaruah and his birding skills.
Today Mr Hatibaruah is running a successful venture showing the magical and mesmerising birds and mammals of the North East to both domestic and foreign birdwatchers and bird photographers. He has come a long way from his humble beginnings and with an ever growing passion and love for birds he is destined to reach further heights.
The saying that “You need to have the bird in your heart before you can see it in the bush” is very apt to describe Mr Hatibaruah’s close and intimate relationship with birds. He is among the very few bird guides who can correctly identify more than 900 species of bird calls and vocalisations. In fact a walk in the forest with him itself is a great learning experience as he would name out the birds in quick succession one after another as the forest resonate with their chirps. It is because of this intense knowledge of bird calls that he is also sometimes called the “Bird Whisperer” by many of his valued customers.