Stories
Displaying 1-5 of 11 result(s).
Usha Lachungpa -
Melli Bazar Melli South Sikkim Sikkim
Strangely during his Sikkim survey, Dr. Salim Ali did not observe any House Sparrows in Sikkim back in 1958-59. He found though that the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus was a common resident. He also did not come across a third Sparrow the Cinnamon Tree Sparrow or Russet Sparrow Passer rutilans. I was hence taken aback when on a routine wildlife survey, 30 years later in around 1988-89, I came across scores of House Sparrows in the bustling township of Melli Bazar in South Sikkim. Many were nesting.
Strangely during his Sikkim survey, Dr. Salim Ali did not observe any House Sparrows in Sikkim back in 1958-59. He found though that the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus was a common resident. He also did not come across a third Sparrow the Cinnamon Tree Sparrow or Russet Sparrow Passer rutilans. I was hence taken aback when on a routine wildlife survey, 30 years later in around 1988-89, I came across scores of House Sparrows in the bustling township of Melli Bazar in South Sikkim. Many were nesting.
Usha Lachungpa -
High Altitude Agro Animal Research Laboratory Dihar Leh Jammu and Kashmir
After the Conservation and Management of Himalayan Wetlands meeting at Leh,in June 2011, I went with my daughter Minla to see the DRDO's Lab and Animal breeding facility called High Altitude Agro-Animal Research Laboratory at Dihar on 22 June with the resident veterinary doctor. Saw one male House Sparrow pecking away in what looked like barren area and took a picture. Really surprising to see House Sparrow so comfortably at home in this high altitude cold desert.
After the Conservation and Management of Himalayan Wetlands meeting at Leh,in June 2011, I went with my daughter Minla to see the DRDO's Lab and Animal breeding facility called High Altitude Agro-Animal Research Laboratory at Dihar on 22 June with the resident veterinary doctor. Saw one male House Sparrow pecking away in what looked like barren area and took a picture. Really surprising to see House Sparrow so comfortably at home in this high altitude cold desert.
Usha Lachungpa -
Rue Notre Dame 262 Rue St. Jacques L'Hotel Montreal QC H3C 1J2 Canada
This may not be relevant here, but in July last year during a short visit to Montreal, Canada to attend a biodiversity meeting I was surprised to not see or hear a single bird since my arrival and the meeting days; so took an early morning walk on the last day. Was pleasantly surprised to see House Sparrows. What was interesting was the birds would hop onto a weed, bringing it down to eat the seeds on it. They would then hop off and the weed would spring erect again! Almost all were females. One group (where there was a male) was having a sand-bath. Took some pictures so am now able to share! Beautiful city though!
This may not be relevant here, but in July last year during a short visit to Montreal, Canada to attend a biodiversity meeting I was surprised to not see or hear a single bird since my arrival and the meeting days; so took an early morning walk on the last day. Was pleasantly surprised to see House Sparrows. What was interesting was the birds would hop onto a weed, bringing it down to eat the seeds on it. They would then hop off and the weed would spring erect again! Almost all were females. One group (where there was a male) was having a sand-bath. Took some pictures so am now able to share! Beautiful city though!
Usha Lachungpa -
Stok, Leh Skitsal Hotel, Stok Leh, Ladakh Jammu and Kashmir
We were in Ladakh to attend a meeting from 16-23 June 2011 organized by MoEF, WWF. etc. on conservation of high altitude wetlands and stayed in a hotel in Stok, a short distance from Leh township. This 1st thing I noticed when we reached the hotel was House Sparrows hopping around us and in and out of the willow bushes or near the dog-pen. Took some photos. The ther most conspicuous bird was the ubiquitous Black-billed Magpie.
We were in Ladakh to attend a meeting from 16-23 June 2011 organized by MoEF, WWF. etc. on conservation of high altitude wetlands and stayed in a hotel in Stok, a short distance from Leh township. This 1st thing I noticed when we reached the hotel was House Sparrows hopping around us and in and out of the willow bushes or near the dog-pen. Took some photos. The ther most conspicuous bird was the ubiquitous Black-billed Magpie.
Usha Lachungpa -
Parleshwar Society Vile Parle, East Mumbai Maharashtra
They were an integral part of my childhood in Mumbai. They would invariably nest on our living room tube light, shedding bits of dried grasses on the ground below and occasionally fly into the ceiling fan when it was on, much to our distress. Closing the windows was not much of an option. They’d simply wait till we opened them to let in some breeze. The loft above the kitchen was another favoured nesting site. All my Maharashtrian neighbours’s kids grew up on Kau-Chiu (Crow-Sparrow) stories while being fed by doting mothers and grandmothers. So ubiquitous, somehow we never thought of sparrows as wild birds.
They were an integral part of my childhood in Mumbai. They would invariably nest on our living room tube light, shedding bits of dried grasses on the ground below and occasionally fly into the ceiling fan when it was on, much to our distress. Closing the windows was not much of an option. They’d simply wait till we opened them to let in some breeze. The loft above the kitchen was another favoured nesting site. All my Maharashtrian neighbours’s kids grew up on Kau-Chiu (Crow-Sparrow) stories while being fed by doting mothers and grandmothers. So ubiquitous, somehow we never thought of sparrows as wild birds.
