BirdLife International Community

A Review of BirdLife International Community


Birding is a hobby that many people don't take seriously. By "many people", I mean people who are not birders. Most seem to be under the impression that birding is an uncomplicated exercise, comprised of arriving at a random place, finding a bird, raising a pair of binoculars, exclaim "Nice looking bird, right there !" and go home.
 Birding is a much deeper activity, as non-birders will never appreciate the research birders use to find species, the planning that goes into every trip or even the enjoyment upon seeing these fantastic creatures ( never mind the enjoyment of just being outdoors ). It is deep because birding forces the participant to ask questions. Admittedly, some of these questions may be banal: "Is that a Hermit Thrush or grey-Cheeked Thrush ?" . Others are profound. For me, there is one question that I hear, whenever I see a bird: "Will my kids be lucky enough to see this bird some day ?"
Conservation is a part of birding; many birders may debate the ins, the outs and the details but I am positive that when a birder watches a bird, they hear a profound question. Maybe not the same as mine. Maybe more selfish ( "How can I make sure I see this bird again ?" ) or less selfish ( "Will everyone in the world have the chance to see this bird ? " ). Regardless, we always answer the question with: "Conservation".
There are many organizations that are devoted to conservation. I have a list of several on my blog, that I encourage everyone to check out. However, I would like to direct everyone's attention to Birdlife International's Community page. Birdlife is an organization that focuses on the conservation issues that affect birds and by extension, biodiversity. There are also many partner organizations that work in conjunction with Birdlife. For instance in Canada, Bird Studies Canada is the Birdlife International regional partner. Given the resources and the global scope, these organizations are able to accomplish many good things whether its research, identifying important habitat, lobbying governments or even just celebrating nature.
BirdLife's Community provides a central area for organizations to share news and ideas. The global nature is impressive and its always nice to see positive work being done on behalf of conservation. Here is an opportunity for people and organizations to get interact and become engaged in conservation work. There is a lot of potential and full credit to BirdLife for setting up the infrastructure to get people talking about and working towards conservation goals.
On a personal note, I love reading news about many of the exotic species, many of which I probably won't see. But there is always that question: "Will my kids have the chance to see this species ?". Check it out and if you are interested; remember to also look at the Bird Studies Canada page as well.