Palakkad: With winter fast approaching, green activist Syamkumar M. and his family are all set for receiving more than 26 varieties of migratory birds and other birds by setting up flat pots and vessels to provide water for them on nearly 50 trees on the compound of his house at Karippankulangara near Thenkurisi here.
Mr Syam, who rose to fame by planting more than 23,000 trees by the roads in Palakkad and in Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary near High Court in Ernakulam, caters to the winged friends by providing them water and also fruits that grow on the trees in his 60-acre plot.
With the National Bird Watching Day falling on Sunday (November 12), well-known bird watcher from Kannur Sasidharan Magathil along with his team had arrived at Thenkurisi to capture the pictures of migratory birds.
Starting from November till the onset of monsoon, birds like Blackthroated Munia, Kingfisher, Rufous Tree Pie (Olenjali), Woodpecker, Peacock, Greater Coucal (Chempoth), Indian Pitta (Kaavi) among others reach the abode set up by Mr Syam to spend both winter and summer.
"While Munia likes to come in large numbers together and drink water from the pots in groups, the Woodpecker comes alone and enters the pots tied on to the trunk of the trees by sliding downwards on the tree to the pots for drinking water," Mr Syam says.
As a part of the state government scheme to set up bio-diversity parks in schools, such parks had been set up at Koduvayur Government HSS, Palakkad PMG School and Kinassery AMSB LP School in the district with Syam's effort and guidance.
Though Palakkad is very hot and humid in summer, the birds stay in Syam's abode for nearly six months withstanding the summer heat, before they sign off to other locations with the start of Southwest Monsoon.
