"Most farmers may not be as happy, though, to see thriving bird communities flocking to their fields because they are widely regarded as pests. “They are seen in association with rice and they’re presumed to eat rice, but that assumption may not always be correct,” local bird enthusiast Paul Bourdin explains. The diet of the lesser coucal, bee-eater, swallows, pacific skylarks, and pied bushchat consists almost entirely of insects, he explained. To help people better understand that not all birds are pests, Feathers in the fields: The birds of IRRI will includedescriptions provided by Mr. Bourdin about each species on display at the exhibit, including their scientific, English, and Filipino names; diet; and habits."
Scientists, writers and photographers combine their efforts and skills to present the IRRI Bird Exhibit featuring the birds found at their rice fields.
Perhaps using sophisticated cameras that can zoom in to the birds from afar as not to disturb their natural way of living, the photographs were able to capture real-life movements of birds at the rice fields.
The research farm at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines may look like nothing more than a verdant sea of rice plants. But, through the eyes of bird enthusiasts and the lens of bird photographers, it is a habitat for many spectacular bird species.
One couldn't really imagine that there are as many birds not to mention the locals but as I see those photos exhibited there are many that are foreigners and does goes here whenever their temperature becomes cold in their countries And that is one the attributes and beauty of our country being a tropical counttry having many fruits , trees and several flying species.
We owe a great deal to the efforts of IRRI for taking on this project for everyone to marvel.
As per email invitation coming from the IRRI staff, Charizabel "Chill" Fortunado-Sapiandante:
"We are particularly proud of this exhibit, not only because of the many wonderful photographs but also because of the way it spotlights the extraordinary bird life of the IRRI farm and the surrounding Los Baños environment. We believe it's important the wider community understands the very positive connection between rice farming and the environment."
IRRI article entitled A Human Eye-View of Birds,
"In Feathers in the fields: The birds of IRRI, bird photographers Tirso Paris, Jr. and Segfredo Serrano exhibit a bevy of bird species (see centerfold) they have captured via their cameras over the years, representing a portion of their portfolios of what Dr. Paris described as their “addiction.”
“Bird photography is a passion,” Dr. Paris said. “You need to be a little bit crazy to go into it. It takes a lot of money, time, and patience to capture beautiful images of birds. But it is very addictive.”
Bird photography also requires special skills that go beyond being very efficient with a camera, according to Dr. Serrano.
“You need to be a good bird watcher and know the habits and forms of birds so that you can easily identify the species on the run,” he said. “And, you have to have a genuine affection for your subject. If you don’t have a genuine affection for our avian friends as part of our environment and their role in our environment, it will be very difficult to have the required patience to document your subject.”
It was indeed a remarkable experience to be able to visit Los Banos, Laguna again and to attend a prestigious exhibit that means a lot to the clearer understanding of why these birds wants to stay and will want stay in this place whether its local or foreign being at the rice fields their staple food and not to mentions the fruits and trees on the sides, Ironically so different on a human species because most of us do not learn to be contented such as the birds in the sky.
We knew that some of them, if not many, are almost endangered species, that we have to also to take care of and keep their species alive and will still exists for the future generation and most of all to continue to appreciate their simplicity and beauty as one of God’s creation.
This exhibit will run from May to Sept 2013 at the IRRI Riceworld Museum. Exhibit opened last May 3. 2013
For more previews of the exhibit, you may find the following links of interest:
For more pictures on the event pls. click this link, https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.435763113186715.1073741882.348405828589111&type=3
No comments:
Post a Comment