MUMBAI: Once a ubiquitous bird, the house sparrow, is gradually disappearing from the city for loss of habitat and nesting sites. On World Sparrow Day last month, various conservationists and bird lovers lamented the drop in the number of sparrows compared to more resilient birds like pigeons and crows. However, there are many Mumbaikars who refuse to let go of the bird so easily. In a bid to ensure that sparrows do not fly out of their neighbourhood, many houses have put have sparrowshelters and feeders. For some it is a way of preserving the disappearing bird in the city, for others it's sheer joy of having birds for neighbours.
K Munshi, a retired army officer, brought a sparrowshelterin his Kandivali house about eight months ago. It was his love for birds which prompted him to purchase the wooden box for sparrowhomes. As many sparrowcouples made it their home, the shelterbecame part of the family. "I did not want my children to grow up without birds around. It was an attempt to bring birds closer home," said Munshi. His daughter Tanya said she learnt her lessons in parenting from the sparrowcouples who raised their young ones in shelter. "It was a learning experience to just watch the birds take care of their baby. I was expecting a baby myself and it was inspiring to watch these birds take care of their babies," she said. "It like having another family around," she added.
An engineer working and living in the eastern suburbs said that the sparrow shelteradds, in a small way, to nature. "Since I got the sparrow shelter, many of my neighbours also got inspired and put up feeders. Some of them even leave sparrowfood out on the window sill. This has increased the number of sparrowsin the area," he said. ""Its a small thing, but it keeps the chirruping of the birds alive,"" he added.
Though massive destruction of green patches and new-age urban housing has send sparrowsin search of new habitats, many Mumbaikars are still working to create nesting space for the birds in various neighbourhoods. Sunish Subramanian, a resident of Bhandup, started keeping small water containers for sparrowsnear his window sill. When the birds started flocking the area, he also made a container and kept grains for them.
"Sparrowsneed the right food and a place to nest. If these things are available, they will flourish," said Subramanian, who also founded the Plants and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS). He has, along with volunteers from schools, has given sparrow shelters to more than 2,000 homes in the area in the last two years.
"You create nests for them, they will come. In Mumbai, there are very few places for sparrowsto make nest," he said. "Once the birds take up the wooden nest, most people develop an attachment towards them. Only then do they realise what they were missing out on," he added.
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