View Record #5002



ID5002
Q1. Name of locality or area you are reporting aboutVE ROAD & SHANMUGAPURAM
Rough Address/AreaShunmuga Puram
City/DistrictThoothukudi
StateTamil Nadu
Location Latitude8.80183029
Location Longitude78.14357758
Q3. What time period are you reporting about?2010-2012
Q4. What kind of general area are you reporting about?City (main)
Q5. What kind of locality is/was this in the time period chosen above?Old residential area
Q6. Roughly how large is the locality/area from which you are reporting sparrows?More than 1 km across (eg, a large village or town)
Q7. How well do/did you know this place in the time period chosen above?I visited frequently
Q8. How frequently did you see House Sparrows in the time period and locality/area chosen above?Always: I saw sparrows every day
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
Q10. If House Sparrows are/were present in this time period and locality/area, did you observe active nests?Nests seen occasionally
Q11. Would you like to share a story about House Sparrows from this time period?A Sparrow in the Dark Summer in Chennai was a experience in itself. It is known for its sweltering heat which would make even the birds fain in flight.It was at the end of such a blazing day late in the evening on my way home I stopped near the Nandanam signal to attend a call on my mobile.The road I was standing was a little dark probably due to a power cut. Just as I finished my call and was about to leave, I heard the chirp of a bird, it sounded odd since neither the situation, location nor the time warranted the beautiful language of the birds. I looked in the direction of the bird call. On the pavement was a cardboard box with some shredded paper bulging out of it. Then again I heard the chirp and a lorry came to halt a few feet behind me and in the glow of its headlight I saw a sparrow with light brown wings and lovely soft white feathers on its belly, beautiful eyes trying to frree itself from the swirls of shredded paper. It was a tiny bird so small that it would have fit into the palm of my little daughter. Probably the bird had got into the box to take some paper to build its home and got stuck in the shreds of human stupidity in the form of paper.I freed that little winged creature of God from its shroud of misery. The moment it was free from its entanglement ,much to my alarm the bird sat on the pavement in bewilderment probably unable to see in the darkness.It was caught in a situation the good lord had not designed it to function.I also wondered if this sparrow in the dark would live to see the morning sunrise, maybe a cat or a stray dog would soon swoop on it and make the little bird its dinner. Luckily the power to the street lights got restored and the fluorescent lamp on the post glowED in glory .The little sparrow gave a chirp of thanks to God almighty (or was it to me?) and flew towards the source of the light at the top of the post.I sped home happy that the sparrow has survived another hurdle in its fight to survival in the Chennai city.
Q12. What kind of buildings are/were present during this time period in this locality?
Q13. Please describe this locality/area in your words.
Q14. Does or did anyone feed sparrows in this locality/area, or put out nestboxes?
Q15. If this is an agricultural area, what are the main crops grown?
Q16. How much green space exists/existed in this locality?
Q17. If you have seen sparrow nests, where were they?
Q18. When did mobile phone coverage arrive at this locality?