Sharp drop in migratory bird species visiting Tanjung Piai over last 10 years, says Tourism Johor director

Tourism Johor director Suhairi Hashim (in floral shirt) looking at a picture of a stork, which is one of the migratory birds that can be spotted at the Tanjung Piai National Park, Pontian.

PONTIAN: The number of migratory bird species in Tanjung Piai National Park has dropped significantly from 70 species to only 17 species over the span of ten years, says Tourism Johor director Suhairi Hashim.

He added that conservation efforts should be stepped up in the wetlands area to ensure that it would continue to be one of the stopping spots for the migrating birds.

“These migratory birds have come all the way from Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea to run away from the cold weather in search of a warmer climate.

“But due to the ongoing global climate change and development, some of these species are no longer coming to Tanjung Piai as their feeding grounds have dwindled," he said.

He said this when met after the officiating ceremony for Migratory Birds @ Tanjung Piai here on Saturday (Sept 24).

Suhairi also shared that these birds would fly to Gunung Pulai first, before stopping to feed at Tanjung Piai.

“These birds would then continue their flights to Indonesia and continue feeding there before returning to their habitat once the cold season is over,” he explained.

The programme will also be listed as one of the annual activities in the Johor Tourism Calendar, he added.

Meanwhile, Johor National Park Corporation (PTNJ) director Taufik Bahar said that more effort will be made to ensure that the Tanjung Piai National Park is free from any sort of pollution.

“We also hope that members of the public can help with this effort to protect and conserve our environment,” he said.