With the migratory season of 2015-16 coming to a close, the focus again shifts to our resident birds that are around us all through the year. It is a special time of the year for bird watchers since we get to observe our beloved feathered friends busy at work trying to raise the next generation. They work diligently building a nest, protecting them from invaders, providing food for their young ones and when the time is right teaching them to take their first flight. For a bird watcher and a nature lover, nothing is more delightful than a situation when a bird decides to nest within his/her vicinity. They instantly get excited and take it upon themselves to become the un-appointed guardians of the nest. It gives utmost satisfaction and joy to see the next generation of birds who were just an egg a few weeks ago, feeble and defenseless take to the skies. This joy is all the more compounded when we would have saved the chicks from the occasional cat raid by shooing them away with a stick kept ready just in cases of such emergencies.
As the breeding and nesting season goes ahead we at Goa Bird Conservation Network will bring to our readers a series on the very common birds that nest around our houses. Below we have explained what we can do to keep them safe and more importantly how not disturb them.
All the 9000 species of birds have a similar approach to motherhood, everyone lays eggs. No bird gives birth to young ones like a dog or a cat. Most birds build inconspicuous and isolated nests, well hidden and away from the gazing eyes of predators. Birds invest a huge amount of energy, resource and time to raise the next generation. Take the examples of the Hornbills of which four species are found in Goa. The female hornbill seals herself in the nest and stays inside the tree cavity throughout incubation, leaving only a tiny gap in the nest from where the male supplies her and the chicks food. This is a very high investment considering the female renders herself totally vulnerable during this period. Every bird species thus invests heavily in their young ones and a failure will mean a huge loss.
Many common birds like the House Sparrow, the Red-whiskered Bulbul and the Oriental Magpie Robin often nest very close to our houses, sometimes even inside. Whether to allow a bird to nest inside our house or not depends on our tolerance levels, but in case a bird is nesting in the vicinity of our house and you happen to look out for them, there are a few things you need to be aware of and follow.
Do not disturb the birds for the sake of taking photographs. Do not go very close to the nest. If the parents perceive too much threat from you they will abandon the nest all together.
If a chick falls off the nest and if the nest is reachable put it back in the nest, if not keep it at a high place near the nest and let the parents take care or let nature take its own way. In most cases, the parents will be successful in guiding the chick back to the nest.
Do not attempt to rescue the chick and try to feed them, all chicks have special diet requirements which can’t be met by us. In case the bird chick is big, looks like it can fly and you do not see the parents around for a long time you can contact the Goa Forest Department office at Campal and hand them the bird. They have facilities to take care of injured birds at Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary.
If we can follow these simple steps, we will be part of being involved in raising the next generation of our feathered friends!
Image Credit: Conrad Pinto and Mayur Nadkarni
