Bird watchers flock to Gede Pangrango National Park<\/p>\n
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor<\/p>\n
The growing popularity of bird watching among university students
\nand environmentalists led the University of Indonesia's School of
\nNatural Sciences and the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park to
\nhold a bird watching walk on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Held at the national park's Bodogol resort in Lido,
\nSukabumi, the event attracted 108 people from universities, bird
\nwatching groups and non-governmental organizations.<\/p>\n
Ria Saryanthi of Birdlife Indonesia said bird watching had
\nincreased in popularity. The Indonesian Bird Friends organization
\nnow had around 1,400 members in Java, Bali and Sumatra, she said.<\/p>\n
"Bird watching is an activity that can help preserve birds.
\nIt's better to see birds in their natural habitats instead of in
\ncages," she said.<\/p>\n
The Bodogol resort is the home to an estimated 107 of
\nIndonesia's 1,500 species of birds. The most popular species
\nfound in the resort is the Elang Jawa (Spizaetus barielsi).<\/p>\n
Ria called on the public to plant trees commonly used by birds
\nto build their nests, such as bamboo.<\/p>\n
"We have already done this in the Cikini Hospital and
\nBorobudur Hotel grounds in Central Jakarta," she said. "We didn't
\nchoose Bogor because the city still has lots of trees like those
\nin the Bogor Botanical Gardens and is surrounded by Mount Gede
\nPangrango, Mount Salah and Mount Halimun."<\/p>\n
The group had also planted trees in Jakarta to help Jakartans
\nrelease stress through bird watching there," she said.<\/p>\n
An organizer from University Indonesia, Arum Krysan Purbawani,
\nsaid the purpose of staging bird watching events was also to
\nupdate the database on birds living around the resort.<\/p>",
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