Access Denied when Using birdc

[Golden Shadow]

Hello BIRD users,
I am trying to automate some configuration of BIRD by changing its 
configuration file (/etc/bird.conf). However, when I try to apply the changes 
using:
# birdc -r "configure"
I get:
BIRD 1.6.3 ready.Access restrictedAccess denied
I am using BIRD 1.6.3 as you see above.
Thanks in advance!Regards,Firas