At his coaching classes, Kunal R., a student of class III, overheard one of the senior boys of his school, talk about how he placed a bowl of water for birds in front of his house. Another boy from the group remarked how the number of birds that visited his home to drink water from the bowl kept increasing by the day.

An excited Kunal decided to give it a try. To his sheer surprise, one day, when he forgot to refill the bowl, there were crows circling his house, in search of water. Kunal now also places food grains for the birds. He says that the birds have now become his pets.

“I have three crows who regularly drink water from the bowl I fill before I leave for my tuition class. I now ensure that the bowl is always full. I like the sight of the crows, pigeons and sparrows. Very soon I will start naming them,” says an excited Kunal.

Having an earthen bowl of water a location where birds can drink water without risking their safety is one of the simplest things that we can do to save our feathered friends from the merciless summer.

“We human beings are experiencing water scarcity this summer. Spare a thought for the birds. It is our responsibility to protect them from the heat this summer,” V.S. Palaniappan, of NEST, an NGO that works towards the protection of home sparrows, says. He adds that logically, human beings are responsible for the changing climate condition – the heat is getting unbearable during the summer and the winters are getting colder and colder.

Seconding him is N. Partibhan, founder of Western Ghats Wildlife Society NGO. He adds, “We have ruthlessly cut down the trees, which are homes to many birds. We have also destroyed plantations where a majority of birds have created their nests. Advertisers in the city are hammering nails on trees which stunt the growth of the trees and affect the birds that live on them. We must put an end to this.”

Parthiban says that, along with placing a bowl of water with some grains of food, one cam also consider placing a nest box for birds in a corner of their homes so that the birds lay their eggs.

People who work for the welfare of birds agree that nothing can be done to curb the heat wave. They also emphasise on planting more trees, especially Neem and fruit-bearing ones, as they will help the human beings and the birds.