Brrr...the cold wave just robbed the hapless birds of their habitat. Barn owls, grey hornbills, parrots, woodpeckers, barbets and mynas have been rendered homeless. Adding to their cup of woes was the tree felling drive from Dehu Road till Lonavla in January.
Driven out of the tree hollows, several have died while injured ones have been rescued by bird lovers. What’s more, the displaced lot seem to have found solace in cavities of society buildings, though to the horror of some residents !
Mahesh Mahajan of the Friends of Nature Association grimaces, ‘‘Out of 15 birds that we received, nine were injured and three died.’’ Widening of the road from Dehu Road till Lonavla was carried out from January 10 and trees were felled as part of the process. At least nine injured barn owls were brought to Association’s orphanage at Talegaon, Mahajan told Newsline.
Owls are nocturnal birds. Barn owls specially cannot tolerate extreme cold weather conditions which prevailed during January, reflects Dr Satish Pande, trustee of ELA foundation that is involved in conservation of birds. Hence there were several cases of owls falling down from their nests or getting molested by crows and colliding with electrical wires.
It’s not just Pune that saw the injured lot of barn owls trying to find a home in the cavities of society buildings. Right from Khed, Kolhapur, Solapur, Nashik, Thane and Satara, nearly 40 barn owls have been injured and rescued, says Pande.
Efforts of the ELA foundation helped save many an owl, as Chandrahas Kolhatkar, a banker cum bird lover points out how Maitri Park society in Thane took care of the hapless barn owl.
The harassed chicks made a lot of noise and residents finally discovered them nesting in the AC box, says Kolhatkar who helped take the birds to a safe artificially designed nest on the building’s terrace.
‘‘Why put these birds in an orphanage when the parents can look after them and feed them. In fact, the society residents have become protective about the chicks,’’ says an enthusiastic Kolhatkar.
Yet, several residents are quite peeved with the screeching of the owl throughout the night at societies in Kothrud, Kolhatkar rued.
So much so that it has led the ELA foundation to even make a 40 minute film on the Secret life of the Screech Owl to promote conservation of these birds. Despite varying superstitions about the owl, this bird is actually beneficial to man as it preys upon rats who harm crops, says Pande.
The film focuses on the ‘in nest behaviour’ of the owl, the feeding duties of parents and their contribution to rearing of chicks and the types of prey.
It also looks at new methods of rescuing and rehabilitating the owls by nest relocation at various places,Pande said.
The film has been made by Pande along with Amit Pawashe, Anand Abhyankar and Prashant Deshpande and aired with special emphasis in the rural areas.