Bird lovers want to raise public awareness about birds (Third of 4 parts)

MANILA, Philippines - The Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) also expressed observation that there are not enough trees and green areas to shelter birds as well as open areas to accommodate them.

“Bird hunting is also prevalent, and garbage has been piling up in coastal areas which also serve as sanctuary of these animals. Together with pollution, these things seriously affect our birds,” Mike Lu of WBCP said.

Lu and his birdwatching group also noted the public’s lack of awareness and appreciation of birds.

Lu said even teachers have little information on birds, and school textbooks don’t contain that much details about these winged and feathered animals. “It is just a shame that foreigners know much more about birds in the country than us.”

He said that as a child, he liked reading books about animals and eventually developed a special interest on birds, which are readily visible than other wildlife resources. “You need not go to the forest to see a flock.”

“That is why I started this Wild Bird Club of the Philippines so that the public can have a better appreciation of birds and be caring of the environment as well,” he said.

Every January, the group conducts a census of wetland birds. “This is an activity done simultaneously together with groups in other countries with the same interest,” Lu said.

Meanwhile, Haribon’s Blas Tabaranza Jr. cited the need to intensify actions to save the country’s birds.

To address this alarming scenario for these wildlife species, Tabaranza said the stakeholders and local governments should have concrete plans for wildlife conservation and protection, as everything is interconnected and the people will also feel the negative effects of whatever is happening to the country’s wildlife resources.

Tabaranza, who has expansive field experience in ornithology (a branch of zoology on the study of birds) and mammalogy, said what concerned government agencies, groups and experts can do is to check the problem being faced by birds and immediately act on it.

“Planting of trees should be made in areas where forests were denuded, and even protection of marine habitat should be intensified like the coral reefs,” he said, adding that instead of planting exotic species, native species should be planted.

“You need to plant the species of trees that were cut, and not the exotic type. It’s a good thing that the government, through the implementation of the National Greening Program, has started planting seedlings of native species. It’s a welcome development,” Tabaranza said. If possible, he added, stakeholders can try to look for new sites that can be given proper protection so birds can live there.

(To be continued)