World Sparrow Day: Kids get nest boxes

SURAT: The small bird known as household sparrow has become invisible in urban areas in the last one decade. Sparrow nests were a common sight in our surroundings once but not anymore. Children found friends among sparrows for whom it was customary then to spread grains in the backyard of the houses.
Urban habitats have usurped the space meant for this small creature.This is likely to damage the biodiversity, experts said, adding that March 20 will be celebrated as World Sparrow Day.
The Nature Club has come up with a novel idea of celebrating the World Sparrow Day. It is distributing sparrow nests to schoolchildren, who are encouraged to put them up at some convenient place in their houses so that they can nest the eggs. The club members have also started awareness programmes on the importance of the bird in our life cycle. An awareness campaign was held at Sanskar Bharti School in Surat on Friday. The club members then handed over 50 bird nests to 50 students.
"We have made these next boxes for sparrows from waste plastic bottles. The box is one feet long and six inches wide. The size of the hole in the nest would not let in bigger birds like crows. Therefore, the eggs of a sparrow would be safe inside the nest," Nature Club's Viral Prajapati said.
"We have 200 more nest boxes ready. These will be given to people who want to contribute towards saving sparrows," he added.
Earlier, houses had ample space for the sparrow nests in the holes of roof, in garden trees, parapets etc. Now, there is no space for the nests in concrete houses and there are not many gardens left. Moreover, in urban areas, mobile towers' rays affect these birds adversely. The seeds on which this small bird feed have pesticides harming them immensely. The Natures Club will conduct an awareness programme in the city schools on March 22 and 24.