Citizen Sparrow: The Story So Far

The Bombay Natural History Society has launched ‘Citizen Sparrow', an online survey to study the decline in the population of house sparrows
“They are feeling my house to make a nest…”

“They are like family; they lived with us in our house…in the walls and old roofs…”

“They would build nests in our fans…and in every nook and cranny of the house. They would hop around eating crumbs and drinking water, even bathing in the dog's bowls…”

“They enjoy Basmati rice much more than the cheaper variety!”

It's stories such as these that make ‘Citizen Sparrow' so interesting. Launched by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), ‘Citizen Sparrow' is an online survey aimed at “documenting the presence or absence of sparrows” in India. Sparrows seem to have suddenly disappeared from our lives. Where have they gone? Conservation experts from across the country have come together to find out.

According to Dr Asad Rahmani, Director, BNHS, questions in Parliament about the fall in the population of sparrows triggered the survey. “The Ministry of Environment and Forests wrote to me asking me to prepare a report. I made one and the government replied that they would like BNHS to study sparrows. Initially, the question of mobile towers affecting sparrows came up and we did a literature survey to find out more. But we found that there were contradictory reports. There was no concrete evidence that mobile towers caused the decline. That led us to this project.” The subject being vast and since sparrows were found all over the country, the scientists decided to involve people in the project. “At the end of two months, we will analyse the results,” explains Rahmani.

So why are there fewer sparrows now when compared to the past? “There are multiple reasons for the decline. The major cause being pesticides,” says Rahmani. “They have killed a lot of soft-bodied insects. Young house sparrows feed on such insects — they are almost gone now. I can hardly see earthworms in the soil these days. It's because of all the chemicals we have brought in.”

In cities, sparrows lack nesting sites, he says. “The young ones are not healthy since the food they eat is harmful. They just die.” Rahmani wants to involve people in conservation. He says they will feel good about doing something for the environment. “We need a lot of data from the people for this project,” he says.

At the time of writing this article, ‘Citizen Sparrow' had about 4500 contributions. But, says Rahmani, this won't do. “We need more. In conservation, there is never enough.”

The Citizen Sparrow initiative was launched on April 1. It will close on May 31.

How does it work?

Spend a few minutes on the ‘Citizen Sparrow' website in order to do your bit for the bird. After registering at http://www.citizensparrow.in/ participants are asked to fill out a form with details on the frequency and number of sparrows observed in their locality during a certain time period. There is space to share interesting observations, anecdotes, and stories with fellow participants. (You can click on the ‘stories' tab in the website to read these.) One can also report on sparrow activity for various localities by filling out separate forms.

Citizen Sparrow: a new online survey to help find the reasons for Sparrow decline in India

Citizen Sparrow, a new initiative from the Bombay Natural History Society, will record areas of Sparrow absence and presence until 31 May. The website link is at the end of this post.

House Sparrows -- who can resist these chirpy, cheerful and charming birds?

Sparrows are found all over the world, almost everywhere that humans live. But strangely, sparrow populations have been in decline in many parts of the world, for reasons that are still unclear, although hotly debated! In India, sparrows used to be found in great abundance in all our cities, towns and villages; but sadly not any more.

Where are sparrows still found in India? Where were they found before? In which places have they declined the most?

The answers to these questions are crucial if we are to discover what ails them, and how to bring them back.

You can help!

By spending 5 minutes documenting the presence or absence of sparrows in localities you know well, both at present and at any time in the past, you will join enthusiasts all over the country in helping sparrows.

You will be asked a brief set of questions, including the precise location of areas you know (or knew) well, aspects of the habitat in these localities, sparrow presence or absence in these localities, and optional information about things like locations of nests, amount of green space, and so on. The questionnaire is very simple to fill, and there is also space for you to share your favouritesparrow stories!

Citizen Sparrow will run for two months, and closes on 31 May, so do participate now!

Website: http://www.citizensparrow.in/

Drought and House Sparrows in England

Provide Water for House Sparrows

Those of us who live near London, England, must stop using our hoses to water gardens after 31 March.

This is because our natural water sources have been depleted over a recent series of dry and warm Springs that brought little rain.

Please remember to put water out for House Sparrows especially during the fledgling season.

There are many providers of hanging water bowls and traditional bird baths in the UK such as CJ WildBird and Living with Birds.

Thank you!

Fifty Terracotta Nests for Tagore thanks to Mukesh Jain

ibn live

KOCHI: Aiming to conserve the dwindling population of house sparrows, Jain�� Foundation, led by activist Mukesh Jain, has come forward with a novel��� venture to provide shelter for these little birds. As part of the conservation programme titled ‘Pakshi Samrakshana Bodhavalkarna Abyan’, artificial nests will be put up at different parts of� the city.

The programme, which will begin at Tagore Library this Sunday, will be� implemented with the help of local people.� “Nests will be distributed to members of Tagore Library to be kept on their houses. We will give away 50 nests made of clay in the first�� stage. More nests will be distributed to interested people in the later� stage. We hope participation of schools and other institutions in the project will help turn the programme a huge success,” Mukesh Jain said.

The number of house sparrows is dwindling with the city developing each day.
“The house sparrows live close to human habitat and depend on human beings.� Tiny nests are mostly seen on tiled roofs of old houses. Since, modern� houses are made of concrete roofing, these little scavengers find it hard�� to get shelter. With greenery vanishing from the cityscape, it has become�� our responsibility to conserve these birds. Through providing nests, we can help them find shelter to survive in the city,” Mukesh Jain said.

Mukesh Jain and the Jain Foundation have been active in bird conservation� activities for last few years. Mukesh has saved at least 30 birds trapped in kite strings on different occasions.

He is assisted in his venture by climbers who can scale tall trees and rescue the birds in distress.

Mukesh also provides water for thirsty birds during summer.

“The birds are� the most affected species owing to the rising temperature, especially in areas like West Kochi,” he said.

Concerned over the worsening situation, Mukesh conceived the idea of� involving the public in the programme. Last year, he had taken up the initiative to distribute earthen bowls which could be placed on the roof tops after filling it with water. Mukesh had been able to distribute over 160 such bowls last year.

House Sparrows Thrive in Sonepur, India

ibn live, 21 March 2012

SPARROWS MOVE INTO TERRACOTTA NESTS

ROURKELA: In its sustained effort to save the house sparrows from extinction, the Bonai sub-division in Sundargarh district organised a series of programmes to mark the World Sparrows Day on Tuesday.

�This was aimed at ensuring collective effort to help save the tiny bird. Bonai Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) AK Mishra who has been instrumental in conservation of these sparrows, roped in schoolchildren and traditional drama troupes to raise awareness on the issue.

�A rally taken out through the sub-divisional headquarters was followed by a function at the ITDA hall. Over 300 schoolchildren and drama troupes participated. Nearly 40 specially designed nesting pots were distributed among the children to attract house sparrows. The DFO asserted that more nesting pots would be supplied to people who wish to help protect the birds.

�The programme shed light on conservation measures and the threats that these birds face. Factors like increased use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers in gardens and farmlands led to the vanishing of the tiny birds.�

Focus was also laid on loss of natural habitat of house sparrows in human settlements due to concrete jungles.

�Among others, Bonai Sub-collector D Prashant Reddy spoke.
Mishra proudly claims that the number of house sparrows has gone past 40, besides, nearly 20 Munia birds, eight weaver birds, a few Maynas and pigeons are regular visitors to his garden.

SONEPUR: The days when sparrow nests dotted almost every house in the neighbourhood as well as public places like bus bays and railway stations, where they lived in colonies and survived on foodgrains and tiny worms, may be back soon. The diminutive house sparrows are now be found in large numbers here, an encouraging sign for the bird lovers.

The initiative of conservationist and Sonepur District Collector Gagan Bihar Swain which started a month back is paying dividends. As part of the initiative, administration hung hundreds of artificial nests, made of terracotta, across Sonepur town.

Worried over the decline in sparrows, once found in abundance, Swain took interest in their conservation with the support of the Forest Department and ornithologists and wildlife enthusiasts Lingraj Panda and Rabi Kumar Rout.

Sparrows are helpful in keeping the eco-system in check as they feast on insects such as caterpillars and beetles. These insects can destroy garden crops and fruit trees, while other insects, such as dipteran (double-winged) flies, can spread disease.

�Meanwhile, Swain convened a meeting on Tuesday evening to chalk out future plans to save the sparrows which was attended by Sonepur DFO R K Pradhan and Sonepur Municipal Chairman Prakash Sahu.

Report from USA on Sparrow Decline and How One Man Learned to Love the 'Dirt Bird'

Al Clark, The Daily Reflector

Sparrow Decline

In addition to the pollen, some of us might have noticed during these early spring days small brown birds flittering into scraggly nests stuffed behind the letters of the grocery store sign, or swirling near the ceiling at the large garden center store or grabbing a French fry in the McDonald’s parking lot.

Some of my colleagues here have told me how they find these birds annoying and unsettling: “They freak me out,” is how one put it. Another one is bothered by their dinosaur-like feet. My wife, too, is not exactly a fan, mainly since one landed in her hair once at the St. Louis Zoo.

Now I’m not exactly a “bird nerd,” although some who know me might call me a “near bird nerd,” but I have to say that these creatures are not my favorites. When I see them I have dismissed them with little thought, and certainly without the admiration that follows the sighting of a bluebird or cardinal.

I’m speaking of the common house sparrow — one of that group I once called “dirt birds” because of their seemingly drab brown features. But this week I have learned more about these nearly anonymous creatures — most notably the fact that they are disappearing.

This past Tuesday — the first day of spring — was also World Sparrow Day, so proclaimed by a group known as the Nature Forever Society, an organization with international roots. This is the third year of this endeavor created to call attention to conservation in general and specifically the sparrow’s decline worldwide with the hope that the trend can be reversed.

But if they’re so annoying, why bother? Well, for one thing a closer look at the house sparrow reveals intricate markings and subtle coloration, but also these birds have long been closely associated with humans — living near us, depending upon us for food and nesting sites and in places around the world it is even considered a good omen if one nests in or around your home.

One Nature Forever conservationist suggests if we can’t save the house sparrow, whose lives play out among us and around us, how can we expect to save the world’s other threatened but far more hidden and elusive creatures?

The reasons for the sparrows’ worldwide decline are not totally understood, but include shrinking food sources and fewer nesting sites, changes in agricultural practices and the use of pesticides and fertilizers and the unknown but likely effect of steadily increasing microwave pollution from cellphone towers.

The poor birds have a lot of windmills to tilt against, maybe too many. But my attitude toward them has changed.

Not long ago a single sparrow found my feeder at the end of the day. Finding a seed there, he lingered a moment to eat. As I watched him, silhouetted against the plainness of my backyard, mine was a gift given and accepted. After this week I can more readily accept this bird’s presence as its gift to me in return — apparently now rarer and more precious than I knew.

Al Clark is executive editor of The Daily Reflector. Contact him at aclark@reflector.com or at 252-329-9560.

International Conference: Speaking Up for the Sparrows, 20 March 2012

FROM CITIZEN MATTERS, BANGALORE.


BCIL ZED Foundation conducted an International Sparrow Conference on 20 March, to raise awareness about the fall in the House Sparrow population in Bengaluru. 20 March is celebrated as the International sparrow day. As part of the conference there was a panel discussion on the birds, held at the Xavier Hall of St. Joseph's College, Lalbagh Road.

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES

The first to speak was Dr. Abraham Verghese, of the Indian Institute for Research, who touched on how, several decades ago, places like Rajaji Nagar were just open land helping sparrow population. He added that several factors, like loss of habitat, food material, and roosting/nesting spaces contributed to the decline in the numbers of the sparrows. He also mentioned the importance of work done by stalwart birdwatchers like Dr.Joseph George, Dr M B Krishna and Dr S Subrahmanya.

ROLE OF MEDIA

Surekha Aithabathula, from Doordarshan, Hyderabad, talked about reporting on wildlife as a necessary alternative to reporting only on politics, and said that even here, the media had the power to distort reports and facts. She stressed the importance of responsible reporting when reporting any news on birds or wildlife. She mentioned that The Independent, a London newspaper, offered a prize of £5,000 in 1998 for a proper scientific explanation of the house sparrow's widespread disappearance from many of our towns and cities. This prize still remains unclaimed.

CALL TO BUILD UP SCIENTIFIC DATA

Karthik K, who works for Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), talked of the fact that no scientific data has yet been compiled on the efforts to conserve the sparrow, or the results of such efforts. He said that it was not enough to distribute sparrow nests; it was necessary to build up a monitoring system for these birds.

FEWER PUBLIC GARDENS AND MORE HOSTILE ARCHITECTURE

Murali H R, of the Namma Cycle Foundation, said that no large public gardens had been created in the past several decades in Bangalore. He said that fewer glass façadedbuildings should be built, as these result in birds hitting themselves fatally against the glass. They also have no niches for the sparrows to nest, and thus contribute to the decline of the sparrows. He also added that perhaps, four more gardens like Lalbagh should be commissioned.

LACK OF INSECTS

T B Dinesh, of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Servelots, spoke of the "birds and bees" and mentioned how lack of greenery led to lack of bees for pollination and hence to lack of food for birds. He mentioned the great extermination of sparrows in China. This was the campaign against the 'Four Pests', initiated in 1958 as a hygiene campaign by Mao Tzedong, who identified the need to exterminate mosquitoes, flies, rats, and sparrows. Sparrows were included on the list because they ate grains, robbing the people of the fruits of their labour. This resulted in the near-extinction of the birds in China. He also mentioned the cultural underpinnings of this social bird, in our stories and songs.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

The Deputy Mayor, S Harish, who was also present, said that the Government would certainly support all measures to conserve the sparrow population and augment it.

HELP FROM BIRDWATCHERS

DEEPA MOHAN was also part of this panel discussion as an amateur birdwatcher. "I spoke for the laypersons, who may not be ornithologists, but can do their bit for the sparrow population by both encouraging nesting and feeding, and documenting the presence of the birds."

Dr Chakravarthy, HoD, Department of Etymology, Gandhi Kisan Vikas Kendra (GKVK) , moderated the discussion.

Several members of the audience also contributed with their inputs. There were suggestions for field trips, even a plea to leave the birds alone to make a resurgence by themselves. Hoping that the points raised in the discussion would be translated into action, the audience and the panelists then dispersed. ⊕

Deepa Mohan
28 Mar 2012