Summer woes: Birds suffer, struggle to keep cool

New Delhi: With scorching summer heat pushing several birds in the national capital into stressful conditions, an NGO said it has rescued around 140 birds suffering from exhaustion and dehydration since March.

Wildlife SOS, a conservation NGO established in 1995 with the objective of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress, said its members saved around nearly 120 birds, including 30 kites and more than 70 pigeons, in March and 20 black kites this month in Delhi-NCR. "Rising temperature causes dehydration and heat exhaustion. Wildlife SOS has rescued numerous birds from such distress situations and provided necessary medical aid to the city's avian population," the NGO said in a statement.

Earlier this week, its Rapid Response Unit rescued a black kite fledgling from a private garden in Chanakyapuri here. "The young bird was unable to fly and was seen lying motionless on the ground. The excessive heat further aggravated the situation and made its condition even more critical. Upon reaching the location, the Wildlife SOS team first provided drinking water and hydrated the bird, after which it was carefully transferred to a transit facility," the NGO said.

The kite is currently under medical observation and will be released once declared fit by the Wildlife SOS veterinarians, it added. In another incident, a black kite was found caught in glass-coated nylon strings, popularly known as 'manja', hanging from a tree inside a residential complex in Sheikh Sarai Phase-I, south Delhi. The bird was rescued through a collaborative effort of the Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit and the Delhi Fire Service. It was suspected that the bird had been stuck there for two days and dehydrated, it said.

"We get a lot of calls for rescue of kites during the summer months. The rise in temperature makes birds sick and the major cause is dehydration due to heat stroke. Kites have a tendency to fly at higher altitudes and are more prone to the excessive heat. "While descending in search of prey or water, they very often collapse on the ground due to exhaustion. Summer is a difficult season for birds and dehydration can turn fatal for them. That is why when we rescue birds from such stressful scenarios, the first thing we do is to provide them with water," Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said.