Sparrow haven feels nature's fury

Broken birdhouses, withered nests and damaged visitor facilities are all that is left at Delhi's first "Goraiyya Gram", or sparrow village, which was opened in May 2022 as a haven for Delhi's state bird.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok and Snehil Sinha

The house sparrow was declared Delhi's state bird in 2012, in a bid to raise awareness about the bird, at a time when its population was believed to be on the decline, especially in urban habitats. However, as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the house sparrow is classified as a species of "least concern".

The 2020 State of India's Birds (SOIB) report, while describing the house sparrow population in the country to be "fairly stable" in the past 25 years, however, stated there had been a gradual decline in abundance in major cities, including Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Maharram recalls Pocket A of the city forest to be a lively place when the sparrow village opened, with over 250 sparrows buzzing until the next monsoon.

"Since its inauguration, the sparrow population began to grow steadily. There was ample food, it was green and it was quiet. Over 500 nests were placed on tree-tops and we had 250 to 300 sparrows nesting here. Then, the floods came and Garhi Mandu was submerged for nearly a month," he said, stating forest department officials saw a trail of devastation when the water receded.

"The nests were empty, most had been swept away. Only around 100 are left now and most of these don't house any sparrows.