4-month sparrow census from March 25
The Exercise By Madras Naturalists’ Society Attempts To Create An Atlas For The City
Oppili.P@timesgroup.com 20.03.2018
Are you a bird lover keen on helping a creating database for sparrows whose population in the city has been dipping alarmingly?
The Madras Naturalists’ Society (MNS), in a bid to create an atlas for the city, will organise a four-month long house sparrow census, beginning on March 25 at Elliot’s Beach, that you can be part of.
The MNS is seeking to know where sparrows are still found in the city, where they were most abundant before and where they have declined. Participants can look for sparrows in their backyard or in their neighbourhood and record their observations on https://goo.gl/forms/wJkvby1Prf5kXVzi1, said MNS secretary G Vijayakumar.
Not too long ago, Vijayakumar says, sparrows were in every nook and corner, flitting in and out of residences or nesting in shops, schools and the like. While some parts are still home to a few, certain parts of the city are completely devoid of these tiny birds, he said.
The main reason, says V Shantaram of Rishi Valleybased Institute of Bird Studies and Natural History, is that glass and steel building, with few niches, have replaced brick and mortar houses. Grocers selling grain packed in plastic bags, against the practice of storing them in open gunny bags, and the the drop in the number of trees in the city are also reasons for the dwindling sparrow poulation, he adds.
In the time that sparrows were very common, few could foresee that their population would drastically decline and practically no baseline data was collected.
But their numbers have dropped, with poor food availability and lack of trees for sleeping probably forcing the birds to move away from the city, say naturalists.
The MNS, after the survey, plans to continue interactions with members of the public for the annual census of other birds.
THE FRIENDLY BIRDS: As part of the exercise, the Madras Naturalists’ Society will seek to know where sparrows are still found in the city, where they were most abundant before and where they have declined. Participants can record their observations on https://goo.gl/forms/wJkvby1Prf5kXVzi1
The Exercise By Madras Naturalists’ Society Attempts To Create An Atlas For The City
Oppili.P@timesgroup.com 20.03.2018
Are you a bird lover keen on helping a creating database for sparrows whose population in the city has been dipping alarmingly?
The Madras Naturalists’ Society (MNS), in a bid to create an atlas for the city, will organise a four-month long house sparrow census, beginning on March 25 at Elliot’s Beach, that you can be part of.
The MNS is seeking to know where sparrows are still found in the city, where they were most abundant before and where they have declined. Participants can look for sparrows in their backyard or in their neighbourhood and record their observations on https://goo.gl/forms/wJkvby1Prf5kXVzi1, said MNS secretary G Vijayakumar.
Not too long ago, Vijayakumar says, sparrows were in every nook and corner, flitting in and out of residences or nesting in shops, schools and the like. While some parts are still home to a few, certain parts of the city are completely devoid of these tiny birds, he said.
The main reason, says V Shantaram of Rishi Valleybased Institute of Bird Studies and Natural History, is that glass and steel building, with few niches, have replaced brick and mortar houses. Grocers selling grain packed in plastic bags, against the practice of storing them in open gunny bags, and the the drop in the number of trees in the city are also reasons for the dwindling sparrow poulation, he adds.
In the time that sparrows were very common, few could foresee that their population would drastically decline and practically no baseline data was collected.
But their numbers have dropped, with poor food availability and lack of trees for sleeping probably forcing the birds to move away from the city, say naturalists.
The MNS, after the survey, plans to continue interactions with members of the public for the annual census of other birds.
THE FRIENDLY BIRDS: As part of the exercise, the Madras Naturalists’ Society will seek to know where sparrows are still found in the city, where they were most abundant before and where they have declined. Participants can record their observations on https://goo.gl/forms/wJkvby1Prf5kXVzi1
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