Birds in our midst
Bajarias is an experienced birdwatcher having worked for Haribon and concentrated on birdwatching and cataloguing, together with eminent birdwatchers from here and abroad. He is familiar with the catalogues of Philippine birds over the decades and has his own experience to match.
The book not only has the photos of each bird recorded but each bird is drawn beautifully and correctly by Figuracion, a son of an artist from Davao who learned to sketch and his father who specialized in nature scenes. He has worked for Dioscoro Rabor, the renowned wildlife biologist as an artist at the Natural Science Museum at the Mindanao State University and many other projects.
Life-altering
Birdwatching is a singular experience that can be life-altering, according to Bajarias. As he says “Knowing an animal’s name changes how you feel about that bird and the place where you saw it. Knowing what an animal is called plucks it from the confounding messiness of nature and brings it to sharp focus, making it special. You want to learn more. You start caring….”
A total of 683 species of birds representing 90 families have been seen in the Philippines. This is from the checklist of the Wildlife Bird Club of the Philippines. Out of the 683 species, 113 have been reported from the three campuses which together comprise 594 hectares, with UP having the biggest, at. 493 hectares.
Bajarias sketches each campus detailing the terrain and the built areas. He also gives an introduction on how to identify birds with appropriate sketches indicating parts of their bodies, details of their heads, limbs, feathers, wings. He also shows how up and down in the air. He shows the type of wings – long and rounded, or sharp and pointed, their beaks, etc. It is a detailed introduction with illustrations of the terms of bird topography. Markings and patterns, life cycles, vocalizations are itemized. He also tells you what to look for in birds and how birdwatching contributes to science. By this time, birdwatching is already an attraction the reader cannot forego. Bajarias then thoughtfully tells you how to conduct yourself as a birdwatcher which is all about respecting birds and not disturbing and disrupting their daily life. There are notes on what to wear (dark colors) and what equipment you should have, the most important of which is a pair of binoculars. Birds do not go near a birdwatcher so binoculars are necessary to catch their features and be able to identify them. As I mentioned, there are photos of each species but Figuracion’s drawings are what tells you what to look for.
A revelation
There are birds in my garden which I have been watching for some time and which I have come to know – black- naped oriole, even some crows because I live next to the WackWack (after for crow) Golf Course. But Bajarias’ book, which is basically a handbook, is a revelation of how many more feathered beings are around.
For example, at Hole #14 of the Manila Golf Club course in Makati, there is what I now know is a little egret (in Tagalog which can be a resident or migrant (from winter climes). It comes in the winter months from way up north, probably the Asian continent, and settles near the pond where it eyes us as we try to drive our balls over the water. This egret and another called cattle egret can be seen riding carabaos or following goats in the countryside. They are basically winter sojourners.
Another bird that looked like a wild chicken to me, which I have seen on golf courses in the city, is the buffbanded rail ( which likes to be in marshy or wet places. It too common a sight so when it appears looking like a chicken, it caught my eye just as I hit the golf ball which fell into the water, as it distracted me. It probably laughed.
Then there is the family of swiftlets, bluish-black and known in the vernacular as fast with acrobatic wings and are quite small. They are not uncommon in open areas.
is a familiar sight all over the country from the mountains to the coasts. Turquoise upper part and white below. It is a beautiful bird which awes no matter how often one comes across it.