Migrating birds fly in search of warmer parts

Bambang Parlupi, Contributor, Jakarta

"It's really interesting," said Edward Pollar, a bird watcher from the Royal Society for Bird Protection, England. "This birdwatching activity only happens once a year."

Along with other local and foreign bird watchers he participated in Raptor Watch, a birdwatching activity focusing on migrating raptor species in the Gunung Mas tea plantation in the Puncak area, Bogor, West Java last month.

The event was part of the World Bird Festival 2001, an event celebrated worldwide through a variety of activities such as birdwatching, film screenings and exhibitions. The event was launched in early October in La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain and will conclude in Taipei later this month. This year's celebration takes "The inspiration of the bird" as its theme.

"This Raptor Watch activity is the second one of its kind. The first was held in Bali in 1996," said Jeni Shannaz of the BirdLife International-Indonesia Programme.

Every year, groups of birdwatchers observe, record and monitor the activities of migrating raptor birds. This year, an Indonesian Raptor Network was set up, aimed at monitoring the birds' activities.

"This interesting natural phenomenon can be witnessed throughout October and November every year," said Jeni, BirdLife's business development coordinator.

She said that anyone could take part in such activities by observing migrating birds traveling from the northern to the southern regions of the world. The Puncak area is an ideal place to conduct birdwatching activities.

Migrating raptor birds can also be monitored in Bengkalis in Riau, Pulau Dua in Banten, Terima Bay in Bali, and several areas of West Java, such as Cimandala, Sukamantri, Kota Batu and Bogor Botanical Garden. Across the world, there are about 388 places where migrating birds can be observed.

Migratory species are of great interest to bird watchers. The birds move to avoid the winter season or to look for new sources of food. While migrating, the birds continue to propagate and stop only to rest or eat before continuing their journey.

At least 63 percent of raptor species, or 183 of 292, migrate each year. The phenomenon can be witnessed in every continent except Antarctica. Indonesia is one of the Asian countries traversed by the migrating birds.

"Migrating raptor birds are easy to monitor since they are bigger in size and move in large groups," said Edward, who has loved birdwatching since he was six years old.

Jeni said that birdwatching activities were also helpful in introducing raptor birds to the wider public.

Raptors that are often found crossing Indonesia include Chinese goshawks (Accipiter soloensis), Japanese sparrowhawks (Accipiter gularis) and oriental honey-buzzards (Pernisptilorhynchus). Of the 63 raptor species found in Indonesia, 39 are migratory.