How 12-year-old Hyderabad birder’s heartbreak highlights chemical threat to birds
HYDERABAD: Twelve-year-old Riyaansh Pandiri set out for Rudrur with Deccan Birders, his heart full of excitement, only to return with a heavy sense of environmental loss. These days, every birdwatching spot seems to hold a reason for birds to flee, seeking safety elsewhere or vanishing for good. In a paddy field, Riyaansh found a Greater spotted eagle, alive but motionless, its strength stolen by poisoned water from the fields.
For Riyaansh Pandiri and his younger brother Daarshik, Sunday birding trips are a family ritual. With their parents, Krishna Prasad and Sujitha Pandiri, the family of four spends each weekend exploring new places and connecting with nature. What began a year ago to reduce screen time has become a shared passion, with the boys now active volunteers with groups like Deccan Birders. But last Sunday’s trip to Rudrur shifted from wonder to sobering ecological grief. 
“We decided to go to Rudrur yesterday with Deccan Birders,” Riyaansh explained to HyderabadMail. “We reached the place at around 7 and decided to check around when we saw a raptor on the ground, inside a farm field, very stiff but still alive.” The sight of the eagle, a majestic raptor rarely seen so vulnerably, was both compelling and distressing. “I didn’t want to take a pic but I had to,” Riyaansh admitted, “because I needed to document it in eBird.”
Their documentation was quickly followed by heartbreak. Within minutes, the bird collapsed. “After seeing that, we were devastated but went along with our birding day,” Riyaansh said, his words reflecting the emotional shock.
Environmental wake-up call
As the family and other birdwatchers went closer to the fallen eagle, local farmers said that the chemicals sprayed on the fields were probably the reason. The trip, which was meant to be educational, became a clear lesson about howhuman activity can harm local wildlife.
“I was disappointed and sad,” Riyaansh reflected, showing maturity beyond his years. “Because it is not only their mistake, it’s our mistake too.” His statement reveals a profound sense of shared environmental responsibility.
For his father, Krishna Prasad, who drives the family on these weekly trips, the event was very upsetting. “Seeing something go is difficult,” he shared, saying that the memory stayed with the children. The experience has now pushed Riyaansh to do something. He is writing an article about what happened for Pitta, a magazine for birdwatchers, to help him understand and share what he witnessed.
This is not the first time the young nature lover has tried to describe the challenges of nature in a world shaped by people. He has also written before about the mixed feelings of seeing a black kite nesting on a phone tower, feeling sad for lost homes but also impressed by how the bird can adjust.
The death of the raptor in Rudrur is a silent, recurring tragedy, as confirmed by veteran birders. Seen through the eyes of a seventh grader, it becomes a powerful call to awareness. Riyaansh’s journey from a curious child to a compassionate observer and now a budding environmental chronicler shows how early encounters with nature can forge not just interest, but empathy, stewardship, and a compelling voice for change.
