Born and raised in India, Angeline Mano Matheswaran is a Research Assistant and Nature Educator at Salem Ornithological Foundation. Angeline is a post-graduate in English Literature and will be enrolling in a Master of Science in Zoology. She introduces and promotes birds and birdwatching to women, children, youth and the public through bird walks, outreach and education programs. The more Angeline observes and learns, the more she works towards finding ways to educate people in understanding their responsibilities to protect and conserve the environment.

Angeline’s areas of study are long-term bird monitoring, wetland ecology, wetland surveys, biodiversity documentation, and breeding biology of threatened and vulnerable birds. She works on projects that facilitate research in ornithology and contribute to the conservation of high-priority bird species. She starts her day with birding no matter where she is. Angeline works extensively with school students promoting the idea of citizen science to improve the birding activity in Salem and across other districts in India. In 2023, she completed 50 educational programs with over 2100 students in government primary and middle schools in Thalaivasal Taluk, Salem.

In January 2025, Angeline carried WINGS Flag #39 on her expedition to assess annual bird populations in 100 ecologically important wetlands of Salem district, Tamil Nadu, India. As project lead she collected detailed observational data from these areas, focusing on bird species but also covering various environmental and ecological factors. Her surveys captured bird counts, habitat conditions, water levels and potential threats to the wetland ecosystem. The overall goal of her work is to monitor the health of these wetlands, which are rich in nature and vital to human life. Her efforts will greatly support ecological conservation and help build an understanding around the severity of the water issues that people face in everyday lives. 

The Salem district will face many new ecological challenges over the next decade, especially related to surface and groundwater scarcity, that are likely to affect millions of lives. Modern biological sciences suggest that 200 species are disappearing every day—the fastest rate of extinction in 66 million years. Angeline believes we cannot, and should not, allow this unprecedented destruction of natural resources.