Why not community composting pits?

In brief, the rational is this: We all agree that wet garbage can be composted, recycled and used for kitchen garden.
The problems: 1. As individuals we may not have time or expertise to do it. 2. Non-cooperation or conflict among members of complex/ society / apartment makes this almost impossible to implement. 3. Many of the old buildings do not have the requisite inbuilt facilities or even space to do this.
Instead:
We have gardens or waste lands: Identify some space for composting operation. Let the corporation hire persons to handle the operations. People can dispose their wet garbage there. The resultant compost can be sold at nominal cost to the same people or whoever needs it. Since the compost heap is not supposed to smell or attract flies (that is what they keep telling us, isn't it?) it would not pose a health hazard to the garden visitors.

Avian architect: Purple rumped Sunbird

The nest building is a tedious and painstaking process. After careful reconnoitering, a suitable site for the nest is located. It is usually well camouflaged and inaccessible to predators such as crows. I became aware of the nest only because I was sitting on a parapet wall just a few feet away from this tangle of thorn scrub. A little bird kept flitting at short intervals. On closer observation I saw it bringing a few twigs in its beak. It never directly approached the partially built structure. First the bird would land a little away and look all around for possible intruders or predators. Then it would enter the tangle to add the sticks to the half built home. And what a home! Cosy, with a 'doorstep', and an awning above!

How about Bird Day instead of Bird Race?

Many of you in Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and maybe a few other places, must be familiar with the annual Bird Race; even those who are not birders.

The race consists of getting into a four wheeler at the crack of dawn and zipping from one birding hotspot to another, at times across the town. One is supposed to tick off the names of the species one has seen at each spot. At the end of the day, the list with the maximum number of species names on it is the winner. Participants mingle with each other in a feel-good atmosphere sharing a sponsored dinner.

"So what?" you might say. Now, this species list can be prepared even the day before by visiting these birding spots over the previous days. There is no way to verify if each and every bird on the list was really seen on the day of the race or not. No one questions if it is really possible to spot so many separate species in one day of birding. A lot of petrol is wasted and the zipping about adds to air pollution, including in the vicinity of the birding spots. The first prize always seems to go to the team which has at least one member close to the event organizers.

The last and the most important point: What is gained from this race is not clear.
Is it awareness that the bird races are trying to create? Then should we not look at things like bird behavior or conservation? I do not buy the agreement that this can come later. When exactly is later? Most birders have been birding now for an average of 7-8 years. The birder population in Pune atleast has already crossed that critical mass needed to move from ticking off species to working towards their conservation.

The Bird Race is then the day when birds are most (and most frequently) disturbed, since participants converge in droves to the more popular birding spots in search of birds, and disturb them in the process.
 
What the bird race organizers need to do is to change it from race to say a contest. Let each team take up and observe only a certain chosen bird species over say a month, at different spots. Or take up a particular birding habitat and study that for a month. Record the count for that species over the time period. Observe, research into the factors that attract/ harm these birds or what could help protect their habitat environment. Create a short report of their observations and recommendations. Take photos if required but not only of the birds but also their habitat and the 'problems'. All satisfactorily completed projects should get a prize. But this is not just about prizes. The reports would come in more handy to take real steps in terms of conservation of the birds and their habitats.