The summer is already here. Even early in March, temperatures in the valley shot up to 40.5 degrees! Mercifully, the mornings are still cool.
The neem trees have started blooming and the heady scent of the blossoms are fill the air. Some of the other trees too are flowering – the Wrightia tinctoria, Alangium sp. The Peepul and Pongamia trees have fresh leaves.
We have put up a few new birdbaths in the campus and the water tanks in the Biodiversity park have been filled up and also made more accessible to animals and birds.
Since early February, the Hundri-Neeva Canal, that was built a few years ago has been having water flowing through it and with this there has been recharge of some of the bore-wells in the valley. A few birds that are dependent on water have made their appearance along the banks of the canal. There were two cormorants by the shores a couple of weeks ago. A Small Blue or Common Kingfisher was also sighted. The wire-tailed swallow, which is seen close to waterbodies was seen flying over the waters.
I hope water will continue to flow and bring about some positive changes to the vegetation and animals as well as people’s lives here.
Dr Santharam