Back to nature through bird-watching

Back to nature through bird-watching

Bayu Dwi, Contributor, Jakarta

Annissa, 10, is busy focusing her Nikon binoculars as her
mouth moves. "Look, there's three birds on a big tree," she yells
happily.

For the elementary school student from Cibinong, West Java,
bird-watching is one of her favorite outdoor activities.

"I like camping and birdwatching, both interesting and
challenging activities," she said while taking part in a recent
bird-watching program organized by the Birdlife International
Indonesia Programme in Bogor.

For the program, Anissa took part along with her mother.

"I let my daughter take part in this kind of event to help her
get close to the environment," said Dewi, Annissa's mother.

She said that so far, there were no complaints from her
daughter even though bird-watching meant waking up early during
holidays. "She knows that if she does not wake up early, the
birds will be gone by the time she gets there," Dewi said.

With its various forms, unique behavior and attractive colors,
birds are interesting to watch.

A parent, Tristan, considered the bird-watching program as the
right moment for parents to introduce various objects found in
the Bogor Botanical Garden to their children. There, visitors
could observe not only trees but also birds, he added.

"I think bird-watching is good for families," said the father
of two from Jakarta.

Another parent, graphic designer Yayong P. of PT Corelab
Indonesia, considered bird-watching the way to introduce nature
to one's family. "By following birdwatching with our family, we
can teach our children to love the environment," Yayong said.

Yayong prefers the simplest method of watching birds, asking
his two-year-old son to observe without the help of binoculars.

He also urged others to introduce nature to their children
early, such as by asking children to watch birds in their
neighborhoods, like sparrows. Then, after they have shown their
interests, the children could be taught the use of binoculars or
a monocular, he said.

"My son can use binoculars and distinguish color," he said
proudly. He added that his son always asked names of birds and
their families. "It seems like he's more interested in observing
nature for real than reading a guidebook."

Apart from improving one's awareness of nature, he said that
the activity also strengthened family ties. "I'm busy with my
routine jobs at the office and do not have enough time to spend
with my child," he said. "But, while participating in this
program, I can spend time teaching and discussing various matters
with my child while having fun at the same time."

With a large pond surrounded by trees, the Bogor Palace's
backyard is an ideal places to bird-watch around the Bogor
Botanical Garden. There, children can get closer to birds
without disturbing them.

There, visitors will hear the warble and chirp of numerous
birds, like kowak-malam abu (Nycticorax nycticorax), tekukur
(Streptopelia chinensis), celepuk (Otus lempiji) and thrush
(Pycnonotus aurigaster). Behind the dense trees a raja udang
(king fisher) twitters and chirps loudly and distinctly. Its
bright and shining feathers, a mix of blue, orange and green,
make raja udang an attractive bird to watch.

Besides watching birds, visitors can also see fruit-eating
bats (Pteropus vampirus). This mouse-like animal flies at night
and sleeps in the day by hanging from the branches of trees. Many
bats are found hanging on branches of a candlenut (Agathis
dammara) tree found in the Palace compound.

A survey in the Bogor Botanical Garden by Bas van Balen, E. T.
Margowati and Sudaryanti in 1987 showed there were about 81 kinds
of birds such as serindid Jawa, parrot, serak Jawa, celepuk
reban, kukuk seloputu, eagle, pecuk ular Asia, Java finch (Munia
oryzivora), kowak-malam abu, tekukur and thrush.

Today, however, there are only 43 kinds of birds in the
botanical gardens due to the narrowing green corridor between
Mount Gede-Pangrango and Mount Salak as a result of ongoing
construction works to build new houses, according to Birdlife's
technical support coordinator David. Noises coming from vehicles,
radios, tape recorders and loudspeakers are other factors
responsible for the disappearance of the birds from the botanical
garden, he said.