Thrissur: Farmers cultivating paddy in the Vilwamangalam polders are growing increasingly anxious as flocks of baya weaver birds, locally known as aattakilikal, have descended on their fields to feed on ripening paddy spikes. The birds are targeting fields where grains have begun to form, damaging the spikes and tender leaves.

Vilwamangalam is the largest continuous stretch of paddy fields in the region, spread across nearly 100 acres. The crop is currently at a crucial stage, when the milky grain gradually matures into rice, making it particularly vulnerable to bird attacks.

Large numbers of birds have been perching on a three-phase electric line connected to a motor shed located at the centre of the fields. From there, they swoop down in groups to nearby plots. Farmers have been trying to scare them away by bursting crackers and beating tins, but these measures have met with limited success, managing to drive off only a few birds at a time.

Many farmers in the region had suffered similar losses last year due to bird attacks. Along with baya weaver birds, grey headed swamphens, locally called neelakkozhi, are also causing damage to the paddy crop.

The polder committee has demanded compensation for the losses incurred and has urged the authorities to implement effective measures to curb the nuisance caused by birds.