Kathmandu, May 4 Ornithologists and bird conservationists are busy counting birds in and around Kathmandu Valley. According to Conservation Officer Krishna Prasad Bhusal at Bird Conservation Nepal, the summer bird count began from May 1 and will last till May 10. “During monitoring we will follow major trails along each transect to record all bird species,” said Bhusal. In Nepal, bird monitoring is carried out in two seasons — winter and summer — by different teams of volunteers and members of BCN. It said urbanisation had affected distribution of birds in Kathmandu Valley. However, different environment variables should be studied to analyse the effect of urbanisation on birds in Kathmandu Valley. Bhusal said urbanisation affected biodiversity. Birds face the biggest threats due to urbanisation, but its impact on birds has not been studied properly. Bird Conservation Nepal has initiated a long-term urban bird monitoring programme in Kathmandu Valley to study the imapct of urbanisation on birds. To monitor birds, Kathmandu Valley was divided into three gradients — urban, sub-urban and rural.