In the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, the 53-year-old Marcelo Maximo built a street shelter where birds can eat, hydrate and play.
Birds fly from all over the city to the MM Resort Big Birds shelter. The idea came to Maximo during the pandemic when he started working from home selling furniture online.
“Working here in the street in front of my house, I saw a lot of birds flying around. So, out of the blue, I decided to make a birdhouse to please them a bit,” Maximo said. At first, I started building houses, but the birds didn’t come, they didn’t pay much attention to me, but then they started to come.”
Besides homes, he also created a whole playing area for the birds: “There are a series of toys. The birds love to go up and down, walk around, and stay on that antenna. So here is the playground where they love to have fun.”
“The routine here is very lovely because I wake up early every day. When I don’t wake up early, my little friends (birds) wake me up. They make noise until I come and feed them. Around 7 am, I feed them food and fruits. I wait for a while, talk to them and wait for them to eat,” Maximo said, adding that many people from the city pass by to see the birds.
Maximo said that if he could ask God what he wants, “I wouldn’t know how to ask for what I want, but what he gave me is exactly what I wanted.”