Bird Buddies
Anitha Bennett
Want to make your home nature-friendly? Try making these birdie accessories and make feathered friends! Site them in your balcony or your garden.
Bird Feeder
Materials
- 1 empty mineral water bottle (preferably Bisleri)
- A sharp knife (adult help needed)
- A compass
- Ribbon or rope
- Some bird seed (from a pet store) or a variety of grains (from the kitchen)
Process
- Cut off the upper portion of the bottle with the knife so that only the cylindrical bottom half remains.
- Fill the cylinder with bird seed or grains.
- Punch two holes with a compass near the rim.
- Pass a bit of ribbon or rope through the holes and hang it up on the nearest tree! You will soon have avian visitors.
Bird Bath
Materials
- A shallow mud pot
- 9 bricks
- Bird seed
Process
- Build a brick tower by placing three columns of three bricks side by side. (If it is in a spot where it could get pushed over, try to get someone to cement it for you.)
- Fill the pot with water.
- Place the pot in the centre of the column and strew birdseed around the pot to attract birds to your bird bath!
Day for others
When summer comes, if lying on the beach in sizzling heat is not your idea of a vacation, plan for visiting some of India’s tallest waterfalls!
- Kunchikal Falls, with a water drop of 1,493 ft, is the highest waterfall in India and ranked second in the whole of Asia. Situated near Agumbe in Shimoga district, Karnataka, the Varahi River is the source of Kunchikal. Aesthetics aside, the Kunchikal has also been harnessed for a hydro-electric project in Karnataka.
- Dudhsagar Falls (1,017 ft) is India’s fifth tallest waterfall, located in Goa. Known as the The Sea of Milk, the Mandovi River is the source for this waterfall, a very popular tourist destination.
- Agaya Gangai Falls (300 ft), doesn’t quite match the giant falls mentioned above, but makes up in beauty. Located in the Kolli Hills of the Eastern Ghats, this waterfall is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains and offers stunning vistas of Mother Nature’s work.