Anu John, a young mechanical engineer, despite having a hectic schedule, has been offering drinking water to the birds passing by his house premises over the past eight years. Kollam: When groundwater levels fall and water bodies dry up, people get concerned over their drinking water supply. But who spares a thought for the birds that visit our houses and surroundings?
Most people are so busy that they have no time to consider the thirst and hunger felt by the birds or provide them a few drops of water to drink.
But here is someone with a kind heart for the winged wonders. Anu John, a young mechanical engineer, despite having a hectic schedule, has been offering drinking water to the birds passing by his house premises over the past eight years. The compound of his house- Puthenveedu, at Plachipoyka in Velichakala, Meeyannur- is studded with several bird baths where birds of all species find succor.
The first bird bath Anu installed was an old grindstone discarded from the kitchen when an electric mixer-grinder arrived. Numerous birds made regular visits to the grindstone to take a sip and when the place soon became crowded, Anu put up more such facilities.
Anu, an avid birdwatcher since childhood got the idea of a bird bath after reading noted birdwatcher Induchoodan’s book ‘The wonderful world of birds.’ Now, birds making use of the facility arranged by him include common species like myna to ones which rarely come down to the ground like the Brahminy kite.
After graduating in engineering from a college in Tamil Nadu, Anu is now working in a private firm at Thiruvananthapuram. In between his work, he finds time to be part of bird-watching expeditions and engage in bird census activities too. Anu is proud to have been part of the team that discovered ‘progressive greying’, a bird variety noted for its changing colors. At present, he is engaged in a census of Asian waterfowls.
