Bird lovers discover haven for parakeets across city
Friday, March 21, 2014 at 1:55 
A group of ornithologists (above) willsensitise people by advising them on conducive habitats for parakeetsA City wildlife team gears up with exciting plans to identify trees for creating habitats and ensuring that the joy of watching parakeets fly will be preserved for coming generations
A census of rose-ringed parakeets using an internationally acclaimed method (box field method) found 10, 500 of the birds in and around Orion Mall, Rajajinagar. Similar hubs are said to have been found at Banashankari, Vidyapeeta Circle and near Binny Mills according to callers, who have been responding to the report Celeb status for city's parakeets,'on March 16 in Bangalore Mirror.
Result: the city wildlife team is all set to start small parakeet parks in association with private firms and RWAs (resident welfare associations) in parts of Bangalore where the birds are in abundance.
Trees, which are the habitat for these parakeets, will be clubbed to form small parks and people would be sensitised in this regard as part of the exercise. "We have been getting calls since the report on the census appeared. We have visited three places and both have parrot hubs, but not as many as Orion Mall," Sharath R Babu, advisor, BBMP environment cell, said. "We have found trees that have around five to six hundred parakeets at both Vidyapeeta and Banashankari Circle. We have now decided to develop such places across the city as small parakeet hubs."
"I have noticed one in Vidyapeeta Circle in BSK 3rd stage. It is heartening to watch parakeets leaving at 6 am and flying back to the same tree together by 6 to 6-30 pm. The same cannot be enjoyed in future as there is sound pollution and other major interference in the area. Please send someone to take the photographs before it vanishes from our eyes,'' a reader, Ratan Das M, had written to Bangalore Mirror.
"This is Rukmani, a resident of Brigade Gateway. Every evening, almost like a ritual for the last 3 years, I have been going just to see the parakeets flying in. I am glad and excited that they have been noticed, and reported with a picture in BM. Where do you think they spend the day?!... I have seen them in the dense trees at ETA gardens on Binny Mill Road," another reader had said.
This information from readers was passed on to the city wildlife rescue team doing the parrot census exercise, who in turn examined and found three more small hubs. Rose-ringed parakeets are found in groups of about 500-600 in these areas, but a census including tree census will be carried out, the wildlife team said.
"Very interesting aspects are coming out with people helping us recognise these habitats existing here and there, which need immediate attention. Once the survey is complete in Rajajinagar, where the tree census is yet to be carried out, we will carry out similar census at Banashankari, ETA Gardens in Binny Mill area and Vidyapeeta Circle and develop them as parakeet parks even if they are of one to two trees," Babu added.
Sensitising people
The wildlife team will sensitise the local people too. Examples like the Big Bazaar management switching off lights to prevent birds getting affected at Rajajinagar will be told to people during sensitisation, wherein they will be advised on aspects to improve habitat by planting fruit-bearing trees, preventing cutting and trimming of trees, the volunteers said.
Further, the chief wildlife warden, Karnataka, will be requested to declare this as a conducive habitat, which gives protection to such hubs under the law, Babu said. Ornithologists and experts in bird studies led by Squadron Leader (rtd) S S Mahesh from Via Life Sciences, a city-based firm, which has provided solutions at more than fifteen airports across country to handle bird-related issues are being roped in for the exercise to study, document and conserve parakeet hubs in city.
Those who have information on parakeet hubs can contact BBMP team: Sharath R Babu - sharathrbabu@gmail.com, 9880108801 and Vijay Nishanth - vijaynishanth46@gmail.com, 9972487991