It is eye-opening to find out how a simple idea such as a bird perch can address so many concerns and resolve them too. Baali, a resident who lives near the Seegehalli lake at Bangalore, had a brain wave while watching a crane struggling to catch a fish in the lake back at his native home. Lack of trees is a major cause for this problem as there are no resting spaces for the birds.
Why a bird perch?
He then decided to set up a wooden platform in the middle of the lake so that there could be easier access to food for the birds. Not just in term of food, the perch will also serve as safe spot for cleansing activities as birds require the assurance of no-predators for creating its own personal space. As the wooden perch is in the middle of the lake, they are pretty much away from any harm from humans and its other natural enemies.
Most of the targeted lakes are the new rejuvenated ones as they lack surrounding trees. Most of the greenery of the newly worked upon lakes is comprised of saplings. By now, you are probably wondering how the perch got to the middle of the lake.
In the summers when the water level is low, the Seegehalli Lake Trust folks get down into the lakes and build the wooden perch by setting it into the soft soil bed.
Baali goes on to explain how he found birds spending long hours camped on the perch. When the perch is sometimes a bit bigger than usual, it would be pretty cramped in there. Sometimes, you would find a single bird sitting with wings spread like he owns the place. Baali chuckles as he nicknames the perch calling it the "Golden Throne”.
Baali and his fellow volunteers have also tried constructing slopes for ducklings for easier access to the water. All of the volunteers, including Baali, are full time corporate employees.
Till now, they have covered 13 lakes in Bangalore.
What next?
When asked about his long term mission for Bangalore, he said that he desires to introduce the bird perches into more lakes in order to encourage both local and migratory birds and assure them safety.
In doing so, we encourage rich fauna to inhabit the lake environment and also keep the fish population under control. It will also attract the residents making them visit the lake more often. In turn, they will step up if there are any cleaning drives or other activities towards the welfare of the lake.
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