Kavlo Yevun Bosla Mhojea …! Crows Creating Chaos inside Mangaluru Intl Airport

Kavlo Yevun Bosla Mhojea …! Crows Creating Chaos inside Mangaluru Intl Airport

Mangaluru: Decades ago, a popular Konkani song ” Kavlo Yevun Bosla Mhojea Pakyari….Ka ka ka Karun kantar (Crow has come and sat on my roof…singing ka Ka Ka..) by the legendary ” Konkan Kogul” (late) Wilfy Rebimbus was quite befitting when a large number of Crows were seen in Mangaluru. Not any more. Not only sparrows but even crows are deserting Mangaluru City. Their numbers have reduced drastically over the years, because of an increase in the number of buildings and the disappearing tree cover. This also raises questions about the sensitivity of the government towards the City’s ecology, as unplanned felling of trees has reduced the population of these birds, including Crows.

Also, the number of crows reducing in the City primarily due to a lack of nesting spaces. Trees are being cut down to make way for infrastructure works, especially high-rise buildings and road widening. Some years ago, one could see many jungle and house crows thriving on waste around dump sites, like near City’s Fish and meat market, but now they are hardly seen. We have also observed that earlier, when crows got injured, others would come to their rescue. But of late, that behaviour was not seen. Changes in lifestyle and the introduction of more commercialised food items like packed food are the prime causes for the loss of such important bird species.

Crow was seen sitting on the seating lounge inside the MIA passenger’s lounge

Even though we don’t see Crows here in the City, the Crow menace has irked passengers at Mangaluru International Airport, where quite a few crows fly or sit on the chairs/tables inside the Airport, and the passengers flying from Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) have complained about the crow menace in the departure terminal. Recently, one of the passengers with the Twitter handle @Devs0000 wrote, “At present, the situation at Mangalore airport is chaotic with crows flying around the gate causing disturbance to people. This has been a major concern among travellers as they have been encountering troubles due to these birds.”

The passengers have also posted pictures and videos of crows sitting on chairs and flying high inside the terminal. One more frequent flyer from MIA, who recently flew to Dubai from MIA with her family, said that they had noticed crows inside the terminal. “We had noticed crows sitting on the ceiling and also on chairs,” she complained. Charles D’souza, who had arrived from Kuwait with his wife and kids, said that while they were having their snacks inside the MIA coffee shop, a crow landed on the dining table and picked up a few french fries and flew back. ” Within a few more minutes two more crows came and sat on the table, snatching away more french fries and bread, added D’souza.

When birds slam into aircraft, disasters can happen. Inside the world of bird-strike countermeasures, where “snarge” is the enemy. Why do our Indian airports have birds flying inside, including MIA? A couple of months ago, when I flew out of MIA to Bengaluru, I noticed crows and sparrows inside the terminal. Is this intentional by design or did birds just happen to figure out ways to get in? There are a few reasons why birds may be present inside Indian airports. One possibility is that the airports are located near natural habitats for these birds, such as wetlands or forests. Birds may also be attracted to food sources within the airport, such as waste or open trash containers.

Additionally, some airports may have specific architectural features that make it easier for birds to enter, such as open skylights or large windows. Another possibility is that some airports may have intentionally designed spaces for birds. For example, some airports may have bird gardens or bird-friendly landscaping to attract birds and promote biodiversity within the airport. It’s worth noting that the presence of birds inside airports can pose a safety hazard, as they can collide with aircraft or disrupt operations. To mitigate this risk, many airports have bird control measures in place, such as using pyrotechnics, bird-scaring balloons, or trained falcons to discourage birds from entering the airport. But not sure what safety measures are being taken at MIA of the crow menace.

MIA sources claim that they are making all efforts to rid the airport of the crows. “We used traps, but the crows avoided them and sat on the ceiling. Since runway works are underway and hence closed during the daytime, all the doors are kept open so that crows fly out. However, nothing has been working in our favour. Crows continue to come inside the terminal,” said an airport official. Another official from MIA added that they will make sure that passengers will not face any inconvenience in the coming days. Hope so!