PESHAWAR: The house sparrows day is being celebrated today globally as their population is on the decline, according to experts.

They said that gradual disappearance of home sparrows from the sky meant a gruesome pollutant urban environment.

Every year, March 20 is observed as world house sparrows day to raise awareness about their conservation and protection. The day was observed for the first time in 2010 when conservators observed major changes in the climate and its impact on wildlife.

Experts called for a campaign to conduct a survey counting the number of such birds and animals to improve ecosystem.

House sparrow day being observed today to save its declining population

Safia Rehman Yousafzai, an activist of birds conservation network, told this scribe that the main objective of the day was to motivate people and birds lovers to protect sparrows because those birds were known as pointers of a region’s environmental plight.

“The absence of home sparrows from the sky means poor air quality. Therefore, relevant authorities and people in general should take measures to conserve and protect their declining number from the urban hotspots. The day is observed globally to educate people about the significance of home sparrows for our ecosystem,” she said.

Ms Yousafzai said that the day was observed in several ways across the globe including filming their nest-building, movements, number of flights, mating season and feeding patterns. Bird lovers around the world launched its count to determine its declining population as per recent reports, Peshawar being the most polluted city, showed a sharp declining trend due to its poor air quality, she added.

Irfan Khalil, a resident of Tehkal, said that his children had been diehard lovers of home sparrows since long and had built nests on the top of the home walls and trees to attract birds including sparrows. “Unfortunately, in the recent hottest summer in and around provincial metropolis, the number of sparrows witnessed a dwindling trend,” he added.

Prof Khalid Khan, a senior teacher at a local college, stated that Peshawar lost its 60 per cent variety of birds, especially house sparrows, due to unplanned urban development over the last several decades. “If sparrows quit an area, it simply means that environment has lost its health,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2024