Zubair Qureshi
Visitors particularly children and families have welcomed inclusion of around 200 nesting and feeding wooden poles for local and migratory birds in the Fatima Jinnah Park (F-9 Park).
These three-in-one poles installed by the Monal Group of Companies in collaboration with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) provide the much-needed shelter to the birds and help them stay hydrated and healthy during the current spell of scorching heat.
These nesting and feeding stands (around 200 are there) have recently been installed in various parks of Islamabad tempting the visitors to feed the birds with grains and fill the attached bowls with water.
They are installed in line with the vision of The Monal Group’s CEO, said a representative of the Group while talking to Pakistan Observer.
“It is a part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),” said Col (R) Ahmed Bukhari adding soon the Monal Group is going to sign an MoU with the Forest Department of the KP for a huge tree plantation drive over the mountains.
Meanwhile, the ongoing campaign of installing nesting wooden stands in various parks of Islamabad is in full swing. It was in fact launched keeping in view the harsh climatic conditions and the birds’ breeding season, he said.
F-9 Park is a vast and lush green area spread over around 750 acres where these nesting poles have been put up at various points, he said.
The park boasts of a large number of plant species and there are also pockets where wild boars and jackals have made their underground holes. Similarly, song birds like nightingales and cuckoos are also spotted here, always protecting their younger ones, always fighting with magpies and rooks over food, water and shelter. Besides, Islamabad has always been identified as a green city and it is our collective duty to keep the green character of the city intact.
It was in line with the vision of the Monal Group’s CEO that we moved forward to provide a supporting environment to the birds with these improvisations. We are grateful to the CDA that allowed us to install these nesting poles in F-9 Park, Kachnar Park and other such facilities, he said.
In one of these nesting boxes, a dove has recently given birth to a healthy brood and we hope this family will thrive. Our staff refills these bowls with grains and water twice a day and we shall continue this to make birds feel at home, he further said adding, this will also serve to sensitize the visitors and the parks’ workers to take care of the birds.
A female visitor, Maryam expressed her joy at seeing these unique wooden stands in the park. This makes us realize that we owe it to nature, she said. As the weather turns warmer we see a large number of birds—doves and pigeons, sparrows and crows, cranes and kites, even migratory birds like geese and pelicans—taking refuge under the green shads and grooves in Islamabad’s parks and green belts. Now they can find some moments of peace by selecting their specific nesting and feeding poles.
