BENGALURU: The little brown neighbourhood bird is missing. Where have all these friendly chirpers gone? What can we do to help flourish them? A Belagavi forest officer is doing his bit for protecting and saving sparrows in his city. Their population is on the decline in every city. Many cities in the country have reported the disappearance of this species after rampant urbanisation (their population is directly linked to damage caused to the environment) and the advent of mobile telephony with its network towers (their senses get distorted in the presence of microwave radiation).
Disturbed by the disappearance of these birds, N Prabhakar Sangamesh, Range Forest Officer of Gujanal Range, Belagavi division, decided to take conservation measures for them. He explains, “Nowadays, the tradition of building mud and wooden houses has disappeared where the birds could easily build their nests. So the birds have stopped coming to the city as they are scared and feel trapped in modern constructions. So I decided to get coir-based shelters along with bird baths and bird feeders for them and put them in the courtyard of our house.”
In fact, for almost a year, Sangamesh studied and observed the behaviour of sparrows when they slowly started flocking to his house in Kumaraswamy Layout. He found that most birds came, drank water and fed on the seeds while only two dominant birds occupied the shelter. They fought and drove away the rest of the birds. Now with more shelters installed, more birds have started coming. Further, he has filled up his house with many potted plants (100-150 pots) and other ornamental species in his garden. Not just sparrows, but even other species have started taking shelter in his house.
Sangamesh says, “Every day, hundreds of birds come between 8.30 and 9.30 in the morning. They come, drink and feed on the millets and rice which I keep. If we plant the right species — it will attract butterflies, frogs and birds. This, everyone, should do, as sparrows are finding the present city environment very inhospitable and scary.”
However, things are changing for the better with the realisation setting in as people in the city have started flocking to his house to see sparrows and do their bit to save them. Inspired by his Save Sparrow Project, many people in Belagavi city have started investing in the shelter and feed facilities to bring back the ubiquitous chirping sounds of these birds in the backyards of their houses. A few of his friends have started emulating him and they too have put coir shelters, water and feed material to bring back the sparrows in Belagavi city. meera.bhardwaj@newindianexpress.com