January 14, 2008
Lecture/presentation by Fergus Crystal
ROX, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig
8:00 pm

I received an invitation from Mr. Micahel Lu the other day about the event. I was kinda hesitant at first but managed to fix my schedule to attend it at ROX last Monday night. There was food (thank God, I haven't eaten dinner when I arrived) and good bunch of bird enthusiasts/watchers/club members. I got to meet Mr Lu and Ms. Alice in person too.

I was silent the whole time, as in. Whenever the speaker would ask the crowd, do you know what species this is (then pointing to the presentaion), everyone would answer except for me. kakahiya tuloy. hahahaha Ms. Alice said it was OK, they all started like that. She, and another member, sorry can't remember her name, were encouraging me to become a member. I nicely turned it down because I don't want to commit myself to something I can not support 100%. Just like in college, I joined numerous clubs but ended being active with only 3. hihihihihi.

Fergus lectured on how locals of Dalton Pass in Nueva Viscaya and Ecija hunt birds and why we need to be socially responsible enough to protect rare bird species like the Luzon bleeding heart and Spotted Button Quail. He also shared how to document sightings and what to do with your observations after.

If ever you get the chance to observe a not so common bird, write down the following (yes... WRITE IT DOWN):
- date
- place of sighting
- weather condition
- behaviour pattern
- feather color or markings (possibly with illustration)

What to do with it? Answer: share the information with other birdwatchers to ID the species. Or send it to any of the email addresses indicated in birdwatch.ph

The talk lasted about 2 horus. To be honest, it was an eye opener and a my 2 hours were well spent.