Chimpu

 Many people love the nature and they want to remain close to the nature this hobby is actually meant for them. The nature has created thousands and thousands of birds. In the earlier days the birds were killed for the closer examination or to make a stuffed showpiece for the home or to showoff as a memento. But the time has changed and the man has come to know that killing of the beautiful little creatures would only make them extinct from the face of the earth. Hence he developed a hobby which enables him to know more about these little creatures without harming them. In India Dr. Salim Ali was pioneer in promoting this hobby.

Before him there was no knowledge or very little knowledge was available pertaining to the Indian birds and their natural habitats. Dr. Salim Ali put in great efforts to popularize this hobby and draw the attention of the government bodies towards this aspect. Due to his continuous efforts, today the India has number of bird sanctuaries. Few famous ones are Assan Barrage Bird Sanctuary, Dehradun, Chilka Lake Bird Sanctuary, Orissa, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan, Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Haryana and Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Kerala this sanctuary is named after the great Dr. Salim Ali to honor and acknowledge his efforts in this area. This hobby attracts all whether young or old or men or women. Only thing you require to follow this hobby is the passion towards the nature, a good pair of binoculars, a good camera and a good quality of tape recorder to tape the birds’ sounds.

This hobby gives you the opportunity to have a closer look to the exotic creations of the nature. More over you may be able to find out many birds which you do not expect to see in Indian soils and your pictures and the recordings may help the scientists, also your pictures may give you a chance to win some awards.