Protecting the winged companions of humans

The Hindu, March 20, 2014
KOTTAYAM, 

 

 

There has been a decline in the number of house sparrows at the Kottayam market area where you can usually spot them in large numbers, say recent surveys. However, one good thing is that efforts to conserve these ubiquitous birds are under way here. According to Punnen Kurian Venkadath, director, Tropical Institute of Ecological Studies (TIES) and B. Sreekumar, president, Kottayam Nature Society, nearly 90 per cent of the nests provided to the traders in the market, have been occupied by the sparrows. The two institutions have been holding regular surveys on house sparrows and other common urban birds for the past three years. According to them, one of the major reasons for the decline in the population of sparrows is the high-rise buildings coming up in the town. They say the buildings are not ‘sparrow-friendly’ since building nests is a problem in these buildings.

The recent findings that the radiation from mobile towers interferes not only with their navigation system, but also affect the growth of their embryo is a matter of concern, they say.

The organisations will organise a special meeting on Thursday, the World Sparrow Day, at the Kottayam municipal market and felicitate traders who have been conserving the sparrows and other urban birds for years. New nests would be distributed on the occasion, Dr. Punne Kurian said.