Renuka Selvamani, a birder and bird photographer, has noticed a strange phenomenon at her regular haunt, Doddanekundi Lake.
“I am seeing more cases of birds in distress,” she says, pointing out that the culprit is trash dumped by humans. The Oriental or Indian darter ( Anhinga melanogaste r), also known as the snakebird, a tropical water bird with a long, slender neck and a sharp, spear-like beak that it uses to impale fish, seems to be afflicted more than others, Renuka says.
She adds that when this happens, they cannot hunt or feed themselves, and end up starving to death. And this is not happening only at Doddanekundi Lake. She points out that there have been sightings at lakes like Doddanekundi, Jakkur, Yelahanka, Rachenahalli, Hesarghatta, Sampengahalli, Lalbagh and Chelkere, among others. “We would get a couple of birds every year.
The Executive Director of the Avian and Reptile Rehabilitation Centre (ARRC) in Horamavu, there is a surge in the number of darters in distress reported from at least 10 lakes in the city, according to Jayanthi Kallam.
“The darters are very sensitive because of their beaks, which get entangled in waste, such as the net used to pack onions,” explains Renuka, who works as a data scientist with the Expedia Group. “I have seen three birds whose beaks have been tied like this,” she says. A rescue operation in progress | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement While the issue itself is not a new one — the darters’ pointed beaks, adapted to spear fish, have always been vulnerable to the large quantities of garbage regularly dumped in the city’s water bodies — the number of birds in distress that have been spotted has gone up considerably this year, says Jayanthi. But this year we are seeing a sudden surge in the numbers,” she says, adding that ARRC now sees at least one case every week. “Also, a lot of bird watching groups and lake groups are reporting more and more sightings.”
Their beaks get tangled in these bits of cloth, and they can’t remove them. “Unlike some birds, like raptors, for instance, who can lift their legs and clean their beak, darters are not built like that. They will wiggle and shake their head, but it is very difficult for them to get something out once it is stuck. “We have a team dedicated to this…use a motorised boat, drone tracking and binoculars. A bird that has starved to death | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Some birdwatchers are now planning a poster campaign to raise awareness about the issue. As someone who has seen several dead birds and spoken to other birders who have also noticed this trend, he believes it is important to educate people about the pressing issue.
Because of the shape of their beak | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Additionally, since they are flighted birds, rescuing them also becomes difficult, darters’ are more vulnerable to rubbish. Because these are flighted birds, if you intervene too soon, they simply go away, but.
Certain types of garbage seem to be causing most of the danger, says Jayanthi: plastic wrappers or bags, discarded fishing nets and puja items. “People who discard puja cloth don’t even realise the dangers of it, but these tiny pieces of cloth, bright in colour, end up attracting the birds,” she says. they would be in an extremely weak and emaciated condition by the time they are rescued, says Jayanthi While they have rescued some birds. “I am still in talks with local nature groups and trying to figure out permissions,” says Praveen, an avid birder from the city. “We are trying to set up awareness posters highlighting the problem, possible cause and solution,” he says
