The Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITS) has begun a first-of-its-kind conservation project called Back to Nest, to protect the house sparrows in Kerala. The pilot project has been implemented at Marayoor in Idukki district, and aims to ensure the conservation of these birds, as their numbers are dwindling across the state. The project was inaugurated in Marayoor by Devikulam sub-collector Renu Raj on Friday.
Incidentally, Marayoor and nearby villages were once considered the abode of house sparrows, so plentiful were they in numbers there. Assistant professor, KITS, R Babu said that in order to protect the remaining birds, they have fixed 240 nests in five zones.
“To implement the project, we have chosen and fixed the nests in five zones, namely Oorvasal, Meladi, Marayoor Gramam, Pattikkad and Noorvedu-Marayoor town. In each zone, six nests, surrounded by galvanised iron pipes, have been fixed," said R Babu.
During the deluge in August, many trees were uprooted and some fell on the KITS campus at Thycadu in Thiruvananthapuram, due to which many house sparrows lost their habitat.
"We spotted some cages and eggs of these birds while removing the branches of the fallen trees during the floods. Following this, we created 45 temporary cages in the state capital, in an attempt to restore the lost habitat of these birds. The model project has been a success, which has even attracted various types of birds. Therefore, we decided to spread the project to different parts of the state," said Babu.
According to KITS, the large-scale paddy fields in the Marayoor region draw house sparrows. "The sparrows are attracted to the paddy fields. However, with the growing sugarcane cultivation in the region, the paddy fields are shrinking, forcing these birds to migrate to other places in search of paddy fields,” explains Babu.
He, however, adds that several families in the region have placed nests in their houses to attract as well as conserve house sparrows.
More natives of the Marayoor region have expressed their willingness to co-operate with the authorities in fixing the nests at their houses. "We had conducted a survey among the natives and they were supportive. We are planning to distribute two nests each to 2,000 houses in the region," said Babu.
During the inauguration, Kottayam Field Director of Forest Department Georgy P Mathachen, Chinnar wildlife sanctuary assistant wildlife warden PM Prabhu, KITS principal Dr B Rajendran, Idukki District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) Secretary Jayan P Vijayan were also present.