It's World Sparrow Day: What Twitter users tweeted about saving the tweeting bird
Substantial number of sparrows cans still be found in green areas such as Lodhi Garden
On the occasion of World Sparrow Day, social media users have been posting photos of sparrows, reminiscing how the rare-to-find bird used to be ubiquitous a few decades ago. The tweets might have actually outnumbered the tweeting bird as various area-specific studies have indicated that the numbers of these urban birds have steadily dwindled over the years.
Mobile towers, change in architecture with no natural nesting space for the birds and an increasing number of blue pigeons, which have mostly occupied the nesting places of the sparrows.
March 20 has been observed as World Sparrow Day since 2010. It was an initiative by Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France). Many national and international organsations are part of it.
Today is #WorldSparrowDay -common house sparrow, is one of the most ubiquitous birds on earth and is also one of the oldest companions of human beings. Fortunately, they are still found in abundance in many parts of the world. pic.twitter.com/TnghYBM3xE
— Arti Singh???????? (@ArtiParmar23) March 20, 2018
Every little thing in the nature makes our life so beautiful. It is our duty to conserve these little elements of nature. On #WorldSparrowDay, let's spread awareness about conservation of these birds. pic.twitter.com/NGlHfWdnix
— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) March 20, 2018
On #WorldSparrowDay, sharing some pics of sparrows who visit my lawn :) pic.twitter.com/mstYAGC9nt
— Rahul Raj (@bhak_sala) March 20, 2018
Two female House Sparrows frolic in the morning sun. Second image: male House Sparrow. It's World Sparrow Day! Hoping#commonbirdststaycommon#WorldSparrowDay pic.twitter.com/ESou68Xhov
— Neha Sinha (@nehaa_sinha) March 20, 2018
Sparrows were aplenty in Vaishali, Gzb till 5 years back. I don't see any now. This beauty was captured by me, circa 2012, at my home's parking gate.#WorldSparrowDay pic.twitter.com/4TLZ1lmGa7
— Amit Tyagi (@hiambuj) March 20, 2018
Today is World Sparrow Day.Save the sparrow from extinction. It is easy. Sparrow nesting boxes at our home. A sparrow chick peeping out. pic.twitter.com/CFqiEQBZXP
— Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) March 20, 2018
Creating awareness
The idea is obviously not to restrict awareness to one particular day, but earmark a day to convey the message of conservation, which should be carried out throughout the year. Indian conservationalist Mohammed Dilawar started working towards the conservation of house sparrows in Nashik more than a decade ago. In 2005, he set up the Nature Forever Society.
Small things go a long way help Sparrows by providing them with year round source of food here is the favorite food our our #Sparrows #WorldSparrowDay #WorldSparrowDay2018 #NatureForeverSociety #Sparrows #ILOVESPARROWS pic.twitter.com/GveGLJ3Mso
— Mohammed Dilawar (@MohammedDilawar) March 20, 2018
State bird of Delhi and Bihar
In 2012, then Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, declared the house sparrow as the state bird. The move was to create awareness about the birds, which were vanishing from the city’s landscape. The Indian Postal Department had also released a stamp of the house sparrow along with one of the rock pigeon. In 2013, Bihar, too, declared house sparrow its state bird. According to reports tracking number of sparrows in Delhi, the birds have moved from the city to greener areas on the outskirts. A substantial number of sparrows can still be found in green spots such as Lodhi Garden, Sanjay Van and biodiversity parks.
These are daily visitors to the place we lived in #Srinagar #WorldSparrowDay pic.twitter.com/vAm2FEjjZJ
— ????️अनूप⛳ (@malubhai10) March 20, 2018
#WorldSparrowDay @mataonline pic.twitter.com/935iCLq5R0
— प्रथमेश सुरेश शिरसाट (@prathu_shirsat) March 20, 2018
How to save sparrows
Since the architecture of new houses and flats can't accommodate natural habitats for house sparrows, conserving one of the earliest birds would require placing artificial nest-boxes and feeders.
Great Sparrow Count
There was no official sparrow count initiative as no one felt it was necessary. Last year, an initiative called Great Sparrow Count was taken up across the world to count the numbers of sparrows. Such initiatives need continuity and must involve more people to show results.