Reaction Paper: Bird Watching

Samia, Dorothy Ann C. | 2013-15089

Mr. Juned Sonido | STS X2

Bird Watching around UP Diliman

            It is very interesting to know that the University of the Philippines Diliman campus has a variety of bird species. Even though the campus is surrounded by busy roads and areas such as Commonwealth Highway, Katipunan and C.P. Garcia, its environment is still friendly to the birds. The campus itself is very busy for many vehicles including jeepneys are roaming around the campus but still pollution inside the campus is not a big issue. The lecture of Dr. Benjamin Vallejo showed us the different species of birds that can be found in many different areas of the campus. Because of this, many of us realized that not all of the birds we see are Eurasian Tree Sparrows or Mayas but instead are members of different bird species where some are even rare. Dr. Vallejo also discussed about the proper technique or systematic way of bird watching. After the discussion he made us do the activity ourselves. We were allowed to roam around the campus and take pictures of birds in 20 minutes. Our group started from the area around the College of Science building, passed by the Institute of Math area and Institute of Chemistry area until we reached the National Institute of Physics area. Unfortunately, we only saw two species of birds. This may be because it was already around 10:20 to 10:30 am and it is already hot so most of the birds are already hiding behind the leaves of trees which make it difficult to see them. Here are the pictures that our group mate took while we were roaming around:

  

(Photos taken by Jose Miguel Pineda)

            This is the bird that we saw somewhere between the areas of the College of Science building and the Institute of Math. I identify this as a Long tailed Shrike as it looks exactly the same with Alain Pascua’s photo of the Long tailed Shrike in the Bagwis: Birds of UP Diliman Exhibit (Pascua, Long tailed Shrike). This bird species is usually found in Europe, Africa and Asia (Daniels). They have a hooked beak which enables them to catch small insects and animals (Daniels). It also amazed us because it was climbing on the surface of the building which indicates that it has sharp claws or feet.

            We also saw another species of bird somewhere around the National Physics Institute area which we belongs to the Triller species for it looks like a Pied Triller or a Black-and-White Triller. Both of them are found in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines (Tañedo, 2013). Unfortunately, we were not able to take a photo of it for it flew away immediately as we were approaching it. They are territorial birds and would “attack” anyone who gets near their nests (Tañedo, 2013).

            If I am bird watching again some other time, I would make sure that I will do it earlier than 10 am for Dr. Vallejo said that most of the birds come out when it is very early in the morning and is not too hot yet. We should also take care of these birds because they can serve as attractions of UP Diliman. They are pleasing to the eyes of students who are walking around the campus. They can also inspire people to have a new hobby of looking for and taking pictures of different bird species. We can all help in preserving these birds by taking care of the environment. We should not throw our trash anywhere. We should also just walk or ride a bike around the campus to lessen the smoke emitted by vehicles. We can also participate in planting trees and plants for them to have more shelter and nesting areas. UP Diliman has many unused open spaces where trees can be planted. Students can also participate in the research of bird species. Through this, many people would be inclined to helping keep the environment friendly to these birds so that we may see more new species around the campus.

Sources

Pascua, A. (Photographer). (2010, November 01). Long tailed Shrike [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.alainpascua.com/ExhibitPhotos/Bagwis-Birds-of-UP-Diliman/i-wgzRdhT/A

Daniels, D. (n.d.). Birds of the world. Retrieved from http://carolinabirds.org/HTML/WLD_Shrike.htm

Tañedo, M. (2013, July 03). 10 most common urban birds. Retrieved from http://ebonph.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/10-most-common-urban-birds/