WHERE HAVE ALL THE SPARROWS GONE?

How often do you spot a sparrow? Every day? Every week? Every month?

If you are not able to spot it every day, that means a lot of damage has already been done. That means it is high time for some serious thinking and doing.

For centuries, humans and sparrows co-existed in beautiful harmony. Sparrows lived almost everywhere. But the last few decades have seen them vanishing without a trace. More so in urban environs.

The reasons are aplenty. The most important of all are lack of nesting space and the emotional disconnect between humans and sparrows. This has a lot to do with the growing disconnect between humans and nature itself.

Earlier, our grandparents used to sit in courtyards separating stones and husk from grains. Godowns on the outskirts used to stock sacks and sacks of grains and pulses. This helped sparrows and other bird species find sources of food. But now, small shops are being replaced by supermarkets. Grains are hard to find.

Add to these receding tree cover, vehicular and industrial pollution, overuse of pesticides, disappearing water bodies, dwindling agricultural land, receding or fragmented living space, incessant construction activity, electro-magnetic radiation, and haphazardly erected electric poles that criss-cross through towns and cities posing potential harm to birds. What more, lack of food sources and overuse of pesticides also means death of small insects and worms that sparrows need for their survival.

Last but not least, heartless modern architecture. You might have observed small niches, nooks and corners in villages and even in old buildings in Bangalore. These holes on the outer walls, coupled with sloping roofs and kitchen gardens in the backyards, acted as nesting spaces for various birds. Sadly, our growing obsession with glass-and-chrome buildings in cities with no sloping roofs or nesting spaces has deprived birds of their living space.

This is precisely the reason why we singled out this little winged beauty for our campaign.

Let's give them some nesting space.

Let's Bring Back Sparrows.