Nalgonda man feeds hundreds of birds daily for 15 years, inspires others to follow

Nalgonda: Every morning, a stream of winged visitors arrives at Mohd. Gaffar Khan’s house in Islampura in the old town. They feast on the food arranged for them, drink water and fly away. This has been a daily routine at his home for the past 15 years.

The birds begin arriving around 7 a.m. and continue until 6 p.m. The more birds that visit, the happier Gaffar Khan’s family and neighbours feel.

Unlike many households, Gaffar Khan’s family wakes up to the cheerful chirping of birds of different sizes and species. Sparrows, Indian silverbills, pigeons and occasionally parrots are assured of food and water at his home.

“About 150 birds arrive between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. All we do is fill the feeder boxes with foxtail millet and provide water. Watching the birds feed and listening to their sounds makes me happy,” says Gaffar Khan.

The chirping has also attracted visitors, who regularly come to his house to watch the birds. He has arranged special steel stands with feeder boxes on the terrace, balconies and even at the entrance.

Initially, he tried offering little millet, jowar and rice, but the birds showed little interest and their numbers remained low. He then switched to foxtail millet with husk. Since then, the number of visitors has increased considerably.

How it started

Before moving into his present RCC house, Gaffar Khan lived in a small house with a metal sheet roof. He would casually place some millet and jowar in front of his house every day, but only a few birds turned up. Their numbers increased significantly after he began placing feeder boxes on the terrace.

Gaffar Khan specially sources foxtail millet with husk from Hyderabad at around Rs.75 per kg. He has installed 12 feeder boxes, each with a capacity of one kg.

“At times, when we travel, we fill the boxes to their capacity. One filling is sufficient for four to five days,” he says.

Gaffar Khan continues the practice with a larger purpose in mind. He wants the next generation of children to experience the beauty of birds in their surroundings rather than merely learning about them through books and the internet.

Inspired by his initiative, around 10 people have also installed bird feeder boxes at their homes. They, too, have started seeing birds arrive regularly, he says with a smile.