BALLARI: Nagappa Layout in Ballari is not a dense jungle, but like an isolated patch of forest. Every morning there is chirping of birds. And they are not one or two in numbers, but in hundreds. They are all Indian house sparrows.
Nagappa Layout, on the outskirts of Ballari, is a cantonment area. There is a symbiosis here. While the urban areas in Bengaluru are trying to find the reasons why the tiny sparrow which has become part and parcel of the Indian folklore is going extinct, there are several surprises here. The tiny birds are given their space on earth. Thanks to the Herculean effort on an individual and Ballari-based wildlife activist,Santosh Martin.
Since the last three decades, the bird has become a story by itself. The story of its existence and disappearance has become a subject of research for the scientists. Several young scientists have involved themselves to know why the tiny bird, which was once very common, has now become rare. The bird which almost lived with the people, be it in urban or rural area, today has shied away or has been driven to the brink.
When a few bird lovers who pondered upon this decided to revive the activities of the sparrow. Mohammed Dilawar, a Bengaluru-based bird expert, went a step ahead by distributing tiny houses made of bamboo and waste wood to help those people who would like to contribute to the revival of the ‘sparrow glory’. Taking a cue, Ballari wildlife activist Santosh Martin decided to do something here. He began his effort to convince people to spare some space for this bird.
Martin, basically a bird watcher, believes in giving back to the nature. He says, “My friend Vijay Anand, (wildlife expert who died a couple of years ago) asked me about my purpose as a bird watcher. ‘Have you contributed for their conservation?’ This made me think about it. Until I realised that at least we can provide space to these tiny birds. I started in many places, there was a bit of success and a bit of failure, until I chose upon Nagappa Layout.”
The house sparrow conservation at Nagappa Layout began as small as a sparrow until it became a mammoth success. “My cousin E A Martin, a resident here, informed me about sparrows here. I found hardly five-to six. I did a small study and placed four boxes here with the permission and co-operation of the local residents and forgot about it for one year,” he says.
Within a year, the numbers were encouraging as the birds were in hundreds there. Their number had increased. “This inspired me to put up 25 boxes. Today the bird population has spread across the entire cantonment area, Nandi school and surrounding regions,” says Santosh.
An early morning visit during the sunrise reflects the efforts made. The birds are seen in hundreds on the streets, on the trees, perches, terraces and the grounds. The locals have been supportive of the initiative.
“Unlike people from other parts of this city where they wake up to cacaphonic noise of automobiles and peddlers, we wake up to a calm morning. We hear birds call and it is music to our ears,” says Syed Khaleel Ahmed, an engineer and a resident. Ahmed, who has spent most of his time in the Gulf, has settled down in Ballari. He says that it makes him feel nice about the bird life around his house. “We used to experience all this in my younger days. Now, you don’t find this elsewhere. I am proud that sparrows exist in my locality.”
Santosh says that he had to make a lot of effort in convincing people to allow him to put the boxes. “People were hesitant. It is not just giving space, but you need to open your hearts too for these birds. However, a few have been quite generous enough to put a few water pots on their terrace,” he says.
“We regularly leave the water pots on the terrace for the birds,” says Tyagraj, a former government employee.
After a lot of coaxing, some people here have become friends of sparrows. A few houses have a designated feeding spots atop their houses where food grains are set up in an earthen pot for the sparrow. This reflects in birds behaviour as the birds do not fly away when the family members of these houses come near them or pass beneath their tiny house on the walls.
Why Nagappa Layout
Asked why birds don’t inhabit places even when people feed them, Martin, says, “The sparrows need worms for their young ones and the older ones need food grains to thrive. Nagappa Layout with least population and scrub patch filled with Julie flora fits into both the criteria, where the worms are found on these tiny bushes and open spaces and grains are fed by people.”
OTHER BIRDS
In addition to sparrows, the region also has a good colourful bird diversity like munias, warblers, mynas, spotted dove, babblers, stone chats, birds of prey like pariah kite, brahminy kite, shikra, bulbuls, whiote eye and even a few egrets.
BALLARI BUS STAND
Surrounded by huge space and being a bird-friendly area, the Ballari bus stand, according to Martin, is a potential area for sparrow conservation. He decided to install 25 boxes within the bus terminus. When he met the officials in this regard, they rejected the request saying, ‘the birds will dirty the floors and who will clean it?” “It would have easily protected at least a thousand birds,” he says.
SPARROW MAN
Mohammed Dilawar says, “Sparrows are tiny and interesting creatures. They are dwindling everywhere. But still they can bounce back if you provide them with artificial cavities and proper scientific areas. This is one bird which can be revived if your doors of the house and your hearts are left open for them.”