| ID | 2831 |
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| Q1. Name of locality or area you are reporting about | Mainly residential with a few shops and bus stops. |
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| Rough Address/Area | |
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| City/District | Mumbai Suburban |
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| State | Maharashtra |
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| Location Latitude | 19.11375237 |
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| Location Longitude | 72.84188080 |
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| Q3. What time period are you reporting about? | 2000-2004 |
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| Q4. What kind of general area are you reporting about? | City (main) |
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| Q5. What kind of locality is/was this in the time period chosen above? | Old residential area |
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| Q6. Roughly how large is the locality/area from which you are reporting sparrows? | 500 m to 1 km across (eg, a residential colony, commercial area or small village) |
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| Q7. How well do/did you know this place in the time period chosen above? | I lived there |
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| Q8. How frequently did you see House Sparrows in the time period and locality/area chosen above? | Always: I saw sparrows every day |
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| Q9. When you did see House Sparrows in this time period and locality/area, how many did you typically see? | A fair number: When I saw sparrows, there were usually between 5 and 30 birds |
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| Q10. If House Sparrows are/were present in this time period and locality/area, did you observe active nests? | Nests seen occasionally |
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| Q11. Would you like to share a story about House Sparrows from this time period? | Sparrows have always been there in our neighbourhood - there are a fairly large no. of trees and shrubs in and around our colony. I have observed the presence of birds such as sparrows, crows, mynahs, koels (during summer), and parrots all through the year.
Sparrows had tried to enter my flat many, many times, and so also pigeons. The latter commit a lot of nuisance through their droppings. Hence I have fixed nettings (wire mesh) around windows to keep the birds out.
All the birds mentioned above, are regular visitors seen on the tree outside my bedroom. From about 4 in the morning, they start their music which does not disturb our sleep, though. This entertainment continues till dusk.
I have kept a small opening above our main door for the postman to drop the mail. Since about a month, I have been hearing loud chirping of sparrows very close to my main door. A little snooping showed that a pair of sparrows had found an open telephone junction box in the staircase landing, and had built a nest there, the intention obviously being to start a family! One sparrow had even come inside the flat through the mail opening, and couldnt find its way out. I had to open a window and coax the bird to fly out. Amazingly, the bird did manage to squeeze itself through a 2.5 sq. inch mesh hole and flew away to safety. It chose this method even though the main door was open for it to escape with ease. I admired its instinct of self-preservation! |
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| Q12. What kind of buildings are/were present during this time period in this locality? | Grain shops, Vegetable shops, Other food shops, Non-food shops, Open-air eateries, Apartment complexes |
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| Q13. Please describe this locality/area in your words. | Mostly residential, a middle class locality, with some shops, pretty close to the main road and bus stops. There are quite a few trees in the locality, including in our colony. |
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| Q14. Does or did anyone feed sparrows in this locality/area, or put out nestboxes? | Don't know |
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| Q15. If this is an agricultural area, what are the main crops grown? | Not applicable. |
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| Q16. How much green space exists/existed in this locality? | Some |
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| Q17. If you have seen sparrow nests, where were they? | Window, Wall cavity, Telephone juction box. |
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| Q18. When did mobile phone coverage arrive at this locality? | 2005-2009 |
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