Raptors Watch in Port Dickson

Students from Universti Putra Malaysia (Department of Biology and Faculty of Environmental Studies) were at Port Dickson Marine Science Station and Tanjung Tuan for Raptors Watch 0n 8 Mac and 14 Mac 2009.

Raptors Watch should be promoted nation wide to observe and record these interesting migratory birds from late February until May each year. The information can be shared to contribute to the establishment of migratory routes and biological information of birds. The information on these birds are still lacking. Cooperation beetween schools, education instititutions, NGOs and public are needed to support Raptors Watch.

This ativities can create awareness on nature and attract tourist local and international. Port Dickson can be an international destination for birds lovers. A lot of activities can be organised in POrt Dickson including Raptors Watch or Camping for school children around Port Dickson.

For more information please visit http://www.raptorwatch.org

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(From Robert DeCandido, Deborah Allen and Keith L. Bildstein Forktail 22 (2006)
Since the 1950s, it has been known that wintering populations of Oriental Honey-buzzards Pernis ptilorhyncus and at least four other raptor species migrate each spring from Sumatra north-east across the Straits of Malacca to the west coast of Malaysia (Oakeley 1955, White 1961, Medway and Nisbet 1964, 1965, Medway and Wells 1976, Wells 1990a, 1990b). This migration is part of the East Asian Flyway, with most birds presumably returning to breed in the region from western China and southern Siberia east to Japan (McClure 1998, Zalles and Bildstein 2000, DeCandido et al. 2004a,b, Higuchi et al. 2005). However, the magnitude, timing and duration of the migration of Oriental Honey-buzzard and other species using this route remain unclear (Wells 1999, Zalles and Bildstein 2000). Here we report results from counts made in March 2000 and 2001.Most people in Malaysia are unaware of the great diversity of migrant species that pass through their country in spring and autumn.