Bird rescuers record rise in calls from Pune areas after onset of rains

Time of India

27-06-2025

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Pune: The onset of monsoon rain spells and winds accompanying them has led to the displacement of many birds from their nests around the city, requiring immediate care by rescuers.
Most of these rescuers in various areas said that they are getting a lot of calls regarding hatchlings of crows and the Indian grey hornbill.
"A few days ago, we saw that a nest toppled off a tree in the society, and there were a few injured crow chicks. We have a lot of cats in the society, so we contacted the rescuer to help the injured nestlings," said Kusum Chaudhary, a resident of Undri.
Keshav Narayan, a resident of Pashan, also raised the alarm when he saw a drenched kite struggling to take flight during a recent downpour.
"The kite was shivering and had no strength to fly. It was in our parking lot. We offered it some food and water, but it refused to eat. The bird rescuer came and helped dry the kite," said Narayan.
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Anil Avachite, who works as a lab assistant at Sassoon hospital, has been doubling up as a bird and snake rescuer for the last 44 years. He said that he rescued more than 15 crow hatchlings over the last couple of days. "This is the season when many crow nestlings reach sub-adulthood and try to fly.
Some of them fall and get injured as a result of this, and some of them have fallen due to the rain and winds," said Avachite, who has received calls from areas like Koregaon Park, Vishrantwadi, Dhanori, etc.
in recent times.
Aniket Kamble, a bird rescuer who operates near the Pune railway station area, said that he received a lot of rescue calls for chicks of the Indian grey hornbill. "I receive 15-16 calls a day from residents who have spotted injured birds.
Many of the crow chicks that we rescued are also suffering from eye infections in this season. The nests are usually higher up on trees, so when they fall, there are injuries that need to be tended to," said Kamble.
Pawan Sharma, who runs RAWW, an NGO based in Mumbai and MMR, said that they rescued more than 20 species of birds, including the painted stork and even flamingoes stuck in mangroves during this season. "When the season changes, setups change, and owing to unpredictable weather, many birds get displaced from their nests. This is also the season where the stronger hatchlings push the weaker ones out of the nest," he said.