Where are the Sparrows? An atlas aims to find out them in Chennai


Not long ago, chirps of house sparrows were the first thing that you woke up to. Their sightings have been few nowadays, causing alarm among conservationists.

Not long ago, chirps of house sparrows were the first thing that you woke up to. Considered a good omen, their sightings have been few nowadays, causing alarm among conservationists.On World Sparrow Day on Tuesday, observed with the theme ‘I Love Sparrows’, the city conservationists resolved to protect this tiny bird. The Madras Naturalists’ Society, a 40-year-old city-based conservation group, will launch a citizen initiative on Sunday to study the declining population of house sparrows and prepare a sparrow atlas.  

Madras Naturalists’ Society secretary G Vijaya Kumar told Express that it would be a four-month online survey aimed at documenting the presence or absence of sparrows in Greater Chennai. While there are still some sparse populations, they have completely vanished in certain parts of the city. Where are house sparrows still found in Chennai? Where were they found before? Where have they declined the most? The answers to these questions are crucial, if plans are to be devised on how to bring them back.

“Seeking these answers with the help of the citizens of Chennai, creating a sparrow atlas for Greater Chennai and continuing to engage with the participating citizens for conserving house sparrows and their habitats are the objectives of the sparrow census,” Kumar said.

The census will be launched on March 25 on ‘car-free’ Sunday at the Elliot’s Beach and will conclude on July 31. “All  citizens are requested to participate by spotting house sparrows during the census period and report the sightings to the society using their specially created Google form. Citizens’ participation is vital to bringing back house sparrows. The form seeks information such as location, date, time of sighting, number of sparrows, activity (feeding, flying, nesting) and condition of nests along with observer details.....Read more

 

Source web page:New Indian Express


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