The beauty of birds | Arjan Dwarshuis | TEDxAmsterdam

One eighth of bird species are considered endangered. That’s over 1000 species of birds. Our bird species are dying off at an alarming rate. They try to tell us this but we fail to listen. It is our responsibility to stop that. Before 2016, James Clements was the world record holder of bird sightings. That man now is Arjan Dwarhuis. Arjan tell us about the first time he saw an Arctic Jaeger off the Scheveningen coast and how it sparked his love for bird watching. He bird watched before school, after school, sometimes during school. He was that obsessed he had to hide my binoculars under his jacket so he wasn’t considered weird on a nerd.It is our responsibility to keep the young generation inspired. He believes that every child is a naturalist. Birds make it easy for us to keep a connection with nature as they are all around us. ‘I struggle to cope with the guilt from the issues we humans have created. I feel a responsibility to tell you humans their stories because they deserve to live.’ Birdwatching is my greatest passion, it gives me enormous fulfilment in life, takes me to the most beautiful and remote places in this world and makes me understand nature and all its complexities in a much better way. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx