Dwindling habitat reason for falling numbers (Times of India 06 February 2012)

NEW DELHI: There is a difference of opinion on whether there is a decrease in bird species in Delhi ; but birdwatchers are unanimous on one count -the total number of birds has come down. During Sunday's marathon bird watching session, most teams were disappointed with what they saw, or rather what they did not see.
"Some of the most common species were spotted with great difficulty. We discovered the Shankar Vihar wetlands last year; but today we found most of it dried up and children playing cricket in the area that was flush with waders last year," said Major Sangwan, a birdwatcher.
Dr Surya Prakash, who has been tracking Delhi's birds for several years, said that loss of habitat is a major reason why it has become so difficult to see some birds. "The city government has taken on a great project to develop forests but they need to keep in mind that terrestrial birds are equally important and they need grasslands. This is very important for birds like Larks, Pipits and many resident and non-resident waders," he said.
He added that a good solution to the problem is man-managed ecosystems like the Yamuna Biodiversity Park and Aravali Biodiversity Park. "However , monkeys, stray cattle, pigs and dogs are posing a serious threat to areas like the Bhatti Mines and Sultanpur National Park. The Indian Eagle Owl has not nested at these places this year as the habitat has been encroached by monkeys," he added.
Birdwatchers say that for wetlands, it is extremely essential to maintain the right level of water and adequate reed patches for the birds. Anand Arya, a resident of Noida, points out that at Dadri his team could have recorded a much higher number but for the degraded condition of the wetland. Okhla Bird Sanctuary, points out Faiyaz Khudsar, a scientist at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park, has too much water this year and not proper reed management.