What is Birdwatching or Birding?

Birdwatching or Birding is probably one of the interesting outdoor activities. While

birdwatching is a popular activity in the United States and Britain, in Indonesia it is very
uncommon. Birders usually come from many profession in the United States and Britain but in
Indonesia, most birders are either students or someone who have an interest in birds. There are
many varieties of birds in Indonesia, so some of the birders doing this either as the casual
weekend activity or a perfectionist who wants to see a species of bird they never saw before.
Now probably some of the people ask “What is the appeal of birding?”, “Why do you like
this activity?”, “Out of the thousand many activities, why would you watch birds?” etc. While
some think it is a very weird activity, I think all will agree that birding is just the same as many
other outdoor recreations and birds are very aesthetic. Birds are beautiful and their dazzling
colors can be very appealing to the eye. And another interesting part about birds is their behavior
and their sounds. Every bird has their own unique behaviors and the sound that birds make can
be very calming and pleasing to the ear often use in the ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian
Response) video.
Birds can be found in many places and both night and day. Birdwatching is something
you can do while doing other things, like tending the garden, walking or jogging in the park,
relaxing on your balcony, and many more. Birds can brighten up the day and break the boring
routine. It is a perfect way to get out from your daily life full of hectic things. You can also
birdwatching with your family, with your husband and your children, or with a large group of
people.
More than that, birdwatching don’t need to waste a lot of money to enjoy it. All you need
is a field guide book and either a pair of binoculars or a monocular. The common field guide
book in Indonesia is “A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali: The Greater
Sunda Islands” (English version) or “Burung-Burung di Sumatera, Jawa, Bali, dan Kalimantan”
(Indonesia version) written by John Mackinnon & Karen Phillip, mostly it cost somewhere
between 170.000 IDR to 250.000 IDR. While binoculars cost between 400.000 IDR to 7.000.000
IDR depending on the optics, spotting scopes, and the brand. And the monocular cost between
75.000 IDR to 1.000.000 IDR also depending on the optics and the brand.
Birding for some reason has its own kind of sporting aspect. Whenever a group
birdwatcher travel to birding sites, often they will make their competition by listing as many
birds as possible in one session. Sometimes there’s even a real competition about birdwatching
with huge prize pools ranging between 5.000.000 IDR to over 10.000.000 IDR. Birding as a
sport is not resulting in a negative impact on the environment, in fact, it has a positive impact on
the environment.
Birdwatching is one of the best ways to get in touch with nature, experience the awe and
mystery that nature has. While birding you are also seeing many other things like trees,
wildflowers, butterflies, dragonflies that share the environment with the birds and appreciate how
all of them can fit into whole schemes of things. And you can track a bird seasonal movement as
indicator that the season has changed.
 Amateur birdwatchers play an important part in helping scientist to gather information
about birds. This information can be useful because it could be as an evidence that there may be
a possible damaged environment. It can help the scientist to protect the birds from extinction. As
an example, In Indonesia an “Asian Waterbird Census” project take place in the 2nd and 3rd
weeks of January each year. Over 50.000 people in Indonesia watch birds in different wetlands
location and list the birds they found. This project aims to gather information yearly about
waterbird populations in wetlands to use as a basis for evaluating important location and for
population monitoring, and to grow and support community interest in waterbirds and wetlands
and their conservation efforts.
Identifying birds is not an easy task. While it is very fun and interesting, it is not easy.
You need to practice and improve your observation skills and hand-to-eye coordination skills.
These skills can be improve by reading books or journal about the birds and go to the field, as
your keep trying to improve your birding skills you will start to learn a way to identifying birds
fast without a help of field guide books.
Even though identifying birds is hard, don’t there are some helpful tips
One of the hardest thing to master at birding is identification, but don’t worry there are
some hints to help you try to identify a birds:
First, try to put the bird in a basic family. While we may look at color first, you would
never compare a reddish duck with a reddish tanager. So you ask yourself, is it a duck, is it a
dove, is it a heron, is it a gull, is it a hawk, is it a sparrow? This is where you start.
Second, what is its size? Compare it to a familiar bird, a crow, a robin, etc. When you
have established that the bird is smaller than a crow, but slightly larger than a robin, you have
already narrowed down the field considerably.
Third, what is its shape? Is it slender like a cuckoo or chunky like a robin? What do the
wings look like, how long are the legs, what is the shape and length of the bill? Is the tail long or
short?.
Fourth, how does the bird behave? Does it pump its tail, does it wag its tail, does it dart
out from a perch sallying for insects, does it feed on the ground, does it hover, or is it a glider?
Does it wade in the water, does it teeter or bob while it walks near water? For that matter, does it
walk or hop, or both?
Fifth, observe its flight characteristics. When it flies, is it a straight trajectory, undulating,
lurching, soaring? Does it travel in flocks, in pairs or alone?
Sixth, what are the specific field marks? Plain breast, streaked or spotted breast, wing
bars, white outer tail feathers, flash pattern, white rumps, white bands on tail, or patches on
wings or on rump, stripes over the eye, through the eye, around the eye? Does it wear spectacles?
Does it sport a jaunty crest or wear a black mask? Does it have a whisker stripe or a red throat
patch?
 Seventh, what is its voice like? A long melodic warble, a hoarse caw, does it say its name
Chickadee-dee-dee-dee, etc.? Does it have a distinctive call note or scold? Does it rustle dead
leaves when it forages on the ground, does it drum like a woodpecker or make whistling sounds
with its feathers?
Eighth, when is it found? Is it here only in the spring and fall, thus a migrant? Is it here
all the time, a permanent resident? Is it here only in the winter or only in the summer? Does it
show up unpredictably? Check your field guide maps and regional check list to support your call.
The last, where is it found? This is one of the most important questions. Is it always
found near the coast at the beach, in mudflats, in brackish or freshwater marshes, or is it a
denizen of inland desert scrub, rocky outcrops, open fields, prairies, deep woods, or bottomlands,
along fence-rows and edges of thickets and woods, etc.? Habitat is by far one of the best clues to
the identity of your bird. Most birds are dependably habitat specific.
When you do want to birding or birdwatching, one must abide the code of ethics in
birding, that is “Respect and Promote birds and their environment, Respect and promote the
birding community and its individual members, Respect and promote the law and rights of
others”
References
MacKinnon J.,K. Philips dan B. Van Balen. 2010. Burung-burung di sumatera, Jawa, Bali, dan
Kalimantan. Buku. Puslitbang Biologi-LIPI. Bogor.
https://indonesia.wetlands.org/id/acara/program-tahunan-penghitungan-burung-air-global-asian-
waterbird-census/
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdwatching
https://tekno.tempo.co/read/536006/jenis-burung-liar-di-yogyakarta-bertambah/full&view=ok
https://birdlife.org.au/