Our Profile
Perur Lake Forum (PLF) came into being in an organic manner when G. Parameswaran started a monthly bird count in Perur – Sundakamuthur Lake (called Perur Lake) in March 2014. He was trained in a scientific manner in the field identification of birds and their surveys by the Seattle Audubon’s Masterbirder Programme. He originated the idea of this group because he wanted an organization with similar conservation goals in his hometown of Coimbatore.
In the beginning stages, many volunteers helped him in this effort. However, the bird count activities soon gained momentum when a committed group of volunteers such as R. Sivashankar, R. Vridhi, Sai Vivek, Prakash.G and Mohanprasath regularly helped in conducting the monthly bird surveys in Perur Lake. As the bird count gathered steam, our group sought help from other environmental organizations like Zoo Outreach to better understand the ecology of wetlands. Committed volunteers such as Dilip Joshi and Gajamohanraj also joined at the end of 2015 and Chetankumar Joshi, Sharang Satish and Sarayu Ramakrishnan also provided occasional support when needed.
Our group has also started a monthly bird count in Anuvavi Subramaniarkovil, located in the Thadagam area since Jan 2018.
The list of current active volunteers are G. Parameswaran, R. Sivashankar, R. Vridhi, Sai Vivek, Prakash.G, Dilip Joshi, Gajamohanraj, Chetankumar Joshi, and Sharang Satish.
Mission & Vision
Coimbatore is the enviable recipient of the long-term vision of the Kongu Chola rulers of the 8th – 9th century AD, who established a series of thirty wetlands along the Noyyal River. Currently, many of these wetlands are in various stages of disrepair, while others are barely holding onto their ecosystem functions. These wetlands also host a wonderful diversity of water birds, ranging from the large Painted Storks (Mycteria leucocephala) to tiny Little Stints (Calidris minuta), which are all significant indicators of ecosystem health.
The Greater Coimbatore area is also located in close proximity to the Western Ghats, which is one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world. Therefore, the region’s forests and its attendant ecosystems are also home to endemic birds like Malabar Trogon (Harpactes fasciatus), White-bellied Treepie (Dendrocitta leucogastra), etc. It also has isolated pockets of scrub grasslands, with its resident species of birds like the Indian Courser (Cursorius coromandelicus).
The mission of our group is to carefully document the avian population of the Greater Coimbatore region’s water bodies, forested lands, heritage sites, etc, by conducting periodic and systematic bird surveys. These citizen-initiated scientific surveys in the Greater Coimbatore area will collect valuable baseline data for scientists, lawmakers, and other responsible officials, so as to make informed decisions in managing our sensitive ecosystems. In addition, it can also help to spread the message of the communitarian-oriented mission of Citizen Science to the general public.