As summer sets in, Kathiroor panchayat sets an example with birdbaths

‘Kilipathram’, an initiative of Chiragu Prakriti Nireekshana Club in Kathiroor, hopes to motivate every resident to keep a birdbath

All 18 panchayat members of Kathiroor, a village in Kannur district, have installed birdbaths in their homes. An initiative of Chiragu Prakriti Nireekshana Club, a group formed two months ago to introduce children to birds, butterflies and nature, the aim of the members was to encourage households in the village to become bird-friendly by installing birdbaths.

“During the months of March-April, when summer peaks, most of the natural water sources in our village dry up. Ours is a water scare region and so animals and birds have a hard time during summer,” says Shaji Chemban, an employee of Supplyco and one of the founding members of Chiragu.

Keen birdwatchers and members of the Malabar Natural History Society, Shaji and his brothers had installed a birdbath in his house a few years ago. However, he knew that not many people in the vicinity had a similar facility at their homes.

To encourage people in the neighbourhood to install birdbaths in their homes too, they organised a function on February 17 to distribute clay pots mounted on iron tripods, called ‘kilipathram’ to all the panchayat members.

Panchayat president V.P. Sanal says he never expected such an overwhelming response to ‘kilipathram’. He says: “I put up an appeal in my WhatsApp group of residents in my ward to install such birdbaths or keep a container of water for birds. I also requested residents to send us photographs of the birdbaths at their homes,” he says.

Now, Government Higher Secondary School and Tharuvanatheru Upper Primary School in the panchayat have carried forward the initiative. They have formed teams, with students taking turns to fill the container, keep it clean and so on. The local police station has also got a birdbath on its premises.

To keep up the momentum, Shaji, a keen wildlife photographer, set up a video camera near his birdbath at home. He says he had no idea about the variety of birds that visited his home. The nine-minute video ‘Around a clay pot’ showcases the diversity of the bird population in Kathiroor. “I was surprised to see birds like the Yellow-throated bulbul, Golden-fronted leaf bird, Jungle Babbler, Orange-headed thrush and so on visiting my garden!” says Shaji.