[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by bblost

I have a question about Birds.
Of late I see atleast a hundred Black Kites around the Masab Tank flyover.
They fly above Chacha Nehru Park and the flyover.

Why are there so many of them concentrated around here.

I love the majestic show they put on every evening for me. But I am curios, why is there such a sudden spurt in their population.
Is it a good thing or does it mean some balance is off.

Since the place also sees a lot of parrots and pigeons.
I am worried about the parrots.

thanks,

bblost,
The reason for the concentration of Pariah kites, this is what they are reffed to as, is they are scavengers and hover around places where garbage is dumped. They are comfortable in urban areas trying to scavenge some human leftovers. Near the park is a big GHMC waste disposal truck parking area.
What is the reason you are worried about the parrots?
Regards,

[fazalaliadil]

Guys,
Some real initiatives from all are needed to get things moving before the World Wildlife Week. Get together a very effective way to make the sticker proposal materialize, also a kind of maximum viewership is needed from T-BHP forum browsers and consequently their feedback, where? so that we can impress the same upon GTO and the rest of the Mod team.
Regards,

[addyhemmige]

Found this article today in the Times of India, Bangalore Edition.

BANGALORE: The high court on Monday stayed withdrawal of the ban on night movement of vehicles along Gundlupet-Sultan Battery National Highway 212 and Gundlupet-Ooty National Highway 67, which pass through Bandipur National Park.

The government had on June 9 withdrawn the order issued by the district administration of Chamarajanagar on June 3, banning movement of vehicles through the park from 9 pm to 6 am. The ban was supposed to come into affect from June 10.

Advocate L Shrinivasa Babu filed a PIL in this regard alleging that the ban order was revoked within six days due to pressure from some quarters, ignoring the safety of animals. The high court had earlier directed the government to file its reply to the petition.

The ban order was issued after a number of animals met with accidents on the roads at night. Vehicular movement was driving animals from their natural habitat, thus causing man-animal conflict, environmentalists had argued.

After the deputy commissioner of Chamarajnagar ordered the ban on June 3, transporters and members of the public opposed it citing inconvenience. The ban was withdrawn after the CM's intervention.

Am I being too optimistic in hoping for a ban here or do you guys think the court stay order is just a flash in the pan??

[mnhegde]

DKG and fazal: Nice thread . Saving the forests should be one of the main priorities today. Major contributors :-

1. Population Growth.
2. Cutting down trees in rural areas for Fuel purposes.
3. Quarrying (A major blow to the environment).
4. Smuggling of trees for various purposes (Its still going on) (They are also linked with killing of wild animals for tusks, nails and skins) .

How do we wake the corrupt officials and politicos of this country ??

Regarding stickers : . Lets spread awareness.

OT : We hardly find sparrows here in Bangalore (Lots of them were there before) . I miss the chirps every morning. It saddens me very much. Any bhpians share the same views?? Is it the same in other Indian cities?? Is this in some way related to the pollution in cities??

(SORRY, if my points are Off the topic)

[neoranjit]

I dont think I have seen a sparrow in chennai for quite sometime now. They have just disappeared.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by mnhegde

OT : We hardly find sparrows here in Bangalore (Lots of them were there before) . I miss the chirps every morning. It saddens me very much. Any bhpians share the same views?? Is it the same in other Indian cities?? Is this in some way related to the pollution in cities??

(SORRY, if my points are Off the topic)

I live in the heart of Hyderabad.
There is a nice park very close to my apartment.

I see lots of Kites, Pigeons, Parrots, Bats and some other smaller birds every evening.

They leave in the morning and come back with sunset.
Its just spectacular to say the least.

Sorry about the low picture quality.
This Camera is only 3X optical zoom.
All those birds are Kites.
And that is less than half of what is in the sky.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by neoranjit

I dont think I have seen a sparrow in chennai for quite sometime now.

Originally Posted by mnhegde

We hardly find sparrows here in Bangalore (Lots of them were there before) . I miss the chirps every morning. It saddens me very much

If there's one sound which was characteristic of an Indian home it was the busy sparrows that nested in and around the house and their full day of bustling activity. We all miss the disappearance of the sparrow from the city. But I was overjoyed to find them in villages just outside Hyderabad.

I tend to think one possible reason is all our wheat, rice and pulses used to be purchased from the markets and often required extensive cleaning at home. Possibly all this grain lying around the house was their staple diet? Now with processed packed foods you don't see much of this in homes.

I am just guessing but I could be wrong.

Maybe its the higher levels of pollution or even sound. If you remember sparrows like quieter paces hence our homes. Now with higher levels of traffic all around the din level has gone up. Maybe they are sensitive to sound?

[beejay]

Originally Posted by DKG

If there's one sound which was characteristic of an Indian home it was the busy sparrows that nested in and around the house and their full day of bustling activity. We all miss the disappearance of the sparrow from the city. But I was overjoyed to find them in villages just outside Hyderabad.

I tend to think one possible reason is all our wheat, rice and pulses used to be purchased from the markets and often required extensive cleaning at home. Possibly all this grain lying around the house was their staple diet? Now with processed packed foods you don't see much of this in homes.

I am just guessing but I could be wrong.

Maybe its the higher levels of pollution or even sound. If you remember sparrows like quieter paces hence our homes. Now with higher levels of traffic all around the din level has gone up. Maybe they are sensitive to sound?

I am glad that the morning chirp is still my wake up chime.

I guess these birds do not find enough places to nest. They also fall prey to the other scavengers in the city. The large birds that once used to nest in the wild are a common sight in cities. They are drawn to the garbage and the easy availability of food. The sparrows might have also been devoured by these birds.

Even I am guessing, this might be one of the many reasons.

[mnhegde]

Glad to know that sparrows still exist in some places. Trees are being cut here in the name of development. No wonder, the cute little things got hint of this long back and just vanished from this place (Bangalore). Poor birds, they dont cause any harm (except for stealing some grains ,left for drying in open places ) to people. Sparrows always seemed to be in danger (Hawks, eagles, crows and ''HUMANS'').

"Nature is being destroyed in the name of development".

[kvish]

There used to be a sparrow nest in my house before they all vanished without a trace. Anyway, this time I hope to do something.
Given below are shots from the window of my room.






I see quite a few birds hovering around. (am pretty poor at naming them). However, I feel they all may be going the sparrow way. There has been a sudden increase in these birds around my house. It may be attributed to the metro work going on nearby at the main road after pruning the trees. I am not sure of it. I hope thats not true.

Anyways, at the very least, I want to put a bird feeder. Is that a good option? If so any pointers on how to go about it?

[janitha]

The sparrows were abundant in the FCI godowns in Kerala until recent past. Now they are almost absent. A study done by certain scientists/environmentalists found the reson to be profuse use of pesticides.

[mnhegde]

Not a single post in 3 days???? Guys Lets get together and spread some awareness before it is too late.

[addyhemmige]

Just read in today's newspaper that the Andhra govt was planning to erect a memorial for YSR at the crash site deep inside the core area of Nallamalla forest. A new road will be constructed upto the crash site.

How do these guys even think of such an idea? What is the benefit to people in the area if a memorial is built? Nothing. If they really want to erect a memorial, let them do so in some city or nearby village. Constructing a memorial inside the forest and expecting people to go there to pay their respects is just . As if there is no encroachment there now, the list of damages to the flora & fauna of the area is endless. Wild animals, already facing strong competition from local cattle and poachers, will soon cease to exist in the area if such a memorial is built.

[DKG]

There is a law which prohibits this. It will take a PIL to stop this nonsense

[janitha]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

Just read in today's newspaper that the Andhra govt was planning to erect a memorial for YSR at the crash site deep inside the core area of Nallamalla forest. A new road will be constructed upto the crash site.

How do these guys even think of such an idea?

It will not be easy. Forest Conservancy Act 1980 prohibits use of forest area for non forestry purposes. And more importantly, the judgment of the Hon. Supreme Court in the well known Godavarma Raja case ordered that in such cases permission of the Empowered Committee appointed by the Hon. Court also will have to be obtained. Normally these are not easy.