We often go birding along the track at the site known as Palmito na Brasa. It is so called because it starts behind a restaurant of the same name. Every time we go there we meet a number of children who show an interest in what we are doing.
Last week a good friend of ours, Cláudia Komesu was there at the same time as Odette, our schools liaison volunteer. Cláudia is a fantastic photographer and has always graciously allowed the UBWC to use her photos. Her presence heightened the children’s interest and Odette invited them to meet us one morning to go birding.
So it was that last Thursday morning Elis, Odette and I met at the site. I confess I had little expectation of a significant turn out, but to my surprise and delight ten children appeared!
The group looking at a Social Flycatcher, a bird they had really never noticed despite being very common, they saw how similar it is the Great Kiskadee, and noted the differences.
Explaining the use of playback...
We were able to lend them all binoculars thanks to the generous personal donation by Dominic Mitchell the Editor of Birdwatch Magazine in the UK. The children remained interested for the whole walk, listened with interest when I talked to them about the importance of feathers and why birds spend so much time preening, or why some birds are only here in the summer or winter, one or two showed particular enthusiasm and asked lots of pertinent questions.
...and answering questions.
Children from these poorer neighbourhoods, living at the edge of the forest, are a priority for us. During the walk it was saddening to hear them talk about how their fathers catch birds, or their friends kill birds with their catapults, just for the hell of it. These people that interact so profoundly with the forest and its inhabitants are the very people we need to have defending it, a bit of pressure form a child, or a friend can sometimes sway opinion.
The bird in the tree... (male Swallow Tanager)
... and in the book.
We saw a number of interesting species and the children were delighted by the way I could ‘talk to the birds’ when they came in to playback. They saw birds they didn’t know existed despite walking the same track to school and back every day, they put names to the songs they hear but didn’t know which bird it was, and with the binoculars they saw details of birds they are familiar with that they had never noticed. It was very gratifying to hear their expressions of delight and appreciation for the beauty of a Long-billed Wren for example, a bird they had often heard but never seen.
After the walk we all sat at the restaurant and had a chat about the morning, answered questions about birds and had a well earned cold drink!
The group resting after the walk. Please note that Odette does not always wear a big red clowns nose!
Altogether a most satisfying and enjoyable morning in the company of some very personable children. My thanks go to Claúdia for her friendly attitude towards the children that helped to fire their curiosity, thanks to Odette for the inspired idea and above all thanks to the children for coming and for their interest. Let’s hope that we have touched the hearts of at least some of them.