The children of Kulathupalayam village in Tamil Nadu, which is situated near a bird sanctuary, are using shoeboxes to bring back house sparrows that had been missing for years due to urbanisation.
In the enchanting proximity of Tamil Nadu’s newest bird sanctuary lies a quaint neighbourhood called Thanthai Periyar Kudiyiruppu, a realm where the ceaseless trill of house sparrows that once graced the landscape had gone quiet. But not quite.
Here, a heartening tale of environmental awareness and community action has unfolded, with children from this rural locality taking the lead to successfully revive the presence of house sparrows — the chirpy birds that have abandoned most cities and towns in recent decades due to over-urbanisation.
This neighbourhood in Kulathupalayam village stands as a witness to the ebb and flow of avian life. It sits close to Nanjarayan Tank bird sanctuary, spanning 440 acres and renowned for its biodiversity, hosting at least 176 bird species. This became Tamil Nadu’s 17th bird sanctuary in September 2022.
Also known as Koolipalayam reservoir, this small lake on the outskirts of Tirupur city, around 60km from Coimbatore, was built by the medieval king Nanjarayan as a source for irrigation.
As time passed, birds took over this water world contained by lush green foliage. It now resonates with the vibrant symphony of native and migratory birds. Bar-headed geese from Europe and central Asia make this their summer home. They live in harmony with the ruddy shelduck, Indian cormorant, pelicans and more.
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And yet, the concrete jungle abutting this sanctuary was evacuated of the house sparrow.
The tale of transformation began in December 2022, when the echoes of an awareness event resonated. The Nature Society of Tirupur, an NGO in India’s knitwear hub, unfurled its wings of environmental awareness in schools and residential localities.
During one such event, children bemoaned the absence of house sparrows, attributing their departure to the signals emanating from omnipresent cellphone towers. K Ravindran, the president of Nature Society of Tirupur, dispelled the prevailing myth.
“The kids said they could not spot house sparrows due to the signal emitted by cellphone towers. We told them that this is a popular myth,” he said.
“Living in concrete houses,” he explained, is the reason that led to the exodus of house sparrows, creatures inherently tied to human habitations where kitchen gardens and scattered grains abound. “House sparrows, as the name suggests, live in human habitations and will abandon places where there is no food source for them, such as kitchen gardens.”
Anyone aware of Salim Ali’s journey into becoming India’s greatest ornithologist would know that his passion began with a childhood incident that left a lasting impact. Witnessing the death of a sparrow, he developed a fascination for birds, shaping his destiny. This pivotal moment is recounted in his autobiography, The Fall of a Sparrow.
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The Nature Society of Tirupur tapped into the eager and curious young minds, showing them how to lure back the elusive sparrows with a humble shoebox, transforming it into not just a nesting carton but a continuous supply of sustenance. With a promise of a reward, the young conservationists embarked on a mission.
A call from a second-grader named M Dharshan heralded a triumphant revelation — a pair of house sparrows sought refuge in the shoebox crafted by him and his brother.
“I got the call about six-seven months after the event. It was the first call-back from a participant of our events,” said Ravindran, touched by the fruition of the NGO’s efforts, a testament to 15 years of dedicated environmental events.
Ravindran and his team’s reward expedition to Thanthai Periyar Kudiyiruppu unveiled a heartening surprise. More than 15 schoolchildren have succeeded in beckoning house sparrows to build nests in shoebox sanctuaries.
“Our days start with the chirpings of the sparrows. When we are back home in the evening, the sparrows return with their harmonious chirpings,” said Adhithiya, the 15-year-old elder brother of Darshan.
In an eager anticipation mirrored by Dharshan, the young conservationists await the moment when their sanctuaries will cradle the hatchlings of a resurging sparrow population. R Priya Rishwanthiri, a tenth-grader, tends to her avian guests with diligence, narrating the joyous rhythm of sparrows laying four eggs within two to three months.
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“After the nestlings left the nest, I am now waiting for the next batch of eggs,” Rishwanthiri said.
Prasath Selvaraj, an ornithologist from Coimbatore, extended his commendations to the children. He envisioned their endeavours as a gateway to a future entrenched in wildlife and environmental conservation.
“The IUCN Red List has marked house sparrows in the ‘Least Concern’ category as there is no big threat to their survival. The decline in the house sparrow population can be witnessed only in the urban ecosystem, due to lifestyle changes,” Selvaraj said.
Selvaraj urges communities to prioritise local conservation efforts, highlighting the impact of pesticide use.
“By using pesticides, humans are depriving protein-rich food to sparrows, leading them to migrate towards rural and hilly areas. Kitchen gardens, which attract house sparrows and other insectivorous birds, are also dwindling. These birds can survive only by migrating,” he said.
Research by the University of Exeter, the British Trust for Ornithology, and the University of Queensland highlights the mental health benefits of living in neighbourhoods with more birds, shrubs and trees. The findings were published in BioScience, a journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences.
In Selvaraj’s poignant words, the absence of such avian companions signifies “no life, only lifestyle” in our urban landscapes.
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The lead image at the top shows house sparrows (Representation photo from Pixabay)
Vignesh. A is an Independent Journalist based in Tamil Nadu. He was earlier with The New Indian Express and BBC.
