A couple in living in the Sandıklı district of Turkey's Afyonkarahisar, have become the friends birds thanks to their profession, leaving up to 60 bird nests in the nature that they build themselves every year.
Ali Osman Karakuş, a traditional handicraftsperson, this year hung 60 nests he made from gourds with his wife Fatıma Karakuş on the trees of Kumalar Mountain so that the birds would not get cold during the winter months.
The Karakuş couple work in their workshop under their house in Çay Neighborhood to protect the birds in the district from the cold weather. They hang the nests on the trees of Kumalar Mountain, where there is a particular concentration of birds.
Ali Osman said that they were trying to be a breath of fresh air for birds seeking shelter in cold weather. He explained that he and his wife prepared bird nests from gourds with great effort.
"We have been making various souvenirs such as lamps, chandeliers, baskets, flower pots and vases from the gourds that we have grown for decorative purposes, for 5 to 6 years. In addition, we also make birdhouses from small gourds that cannot be used as lamps," he told Anadolu Agency (AA).
"We have built hundreds of nests, filled them with food and hung them on trees in the mountains and in remote corners. We try to protect the birds from the cold. We repeat this every year."
Karakuş stated that birds do not have difficulty in establishing a nest in gourds because it is a natural material, and that there are similar examples in European countries.
Karakuş stated that seeing the birds settle in the nests as a result of their efforts made them happy.
"Sometimes we see bird eggs in the nest, sometimes we see newly hatched chicks. This makes us extremely happy. Birds have difficulty in finding food, especially in winter. Usually sparrows make nests in these pumpkins," he said.
"We have adopted this social responsibility as our motto. Our neighbors, who follow us closely, also support us. They support so that the birds spend the winter in a warm nest."
Fatıma, noted that everyone should support animals as much as they can during winter days.
