By
JONG D. CADION
PAGADIAN
CITY, ZAMBOSUR (Feb. 26, 2014 www.pagadianfrontline.tk)
-- The 9th Philippine Bird Festival, the country’s largest
celebration of avifaunal diversity and bird lore awareness, takes off in
Zamboanga—Asia’s Latin City— on February 28 and March 1 for the 9th
annual Philippine Bird Festival and will bring attention to the conservation of
the Pasonanca Natural Park forest and rich coastal ecosystems of this
southwestern Mindanao destination. Department of Environment and and Natural
Resources (DENR) official said.
According
to DENR Regional Public Office Officer-in-Charge Rosevirico Tan this year’s
festival themed “Pajaros: Bula sin miedo, sin lingasa”—Zamboanga’s
Spanish-based Chavacano for “Birds: Fly Without Fear, Without
Worries”—coincides with the presence of wintering Barn Swallows or layang-layang, a migrant from northern
Asia which roosts in hundreds of thousands in downtown Zamboanga.
The
Barn Swallow—a symbol of peace and cultural understanding—was chosen as the
flagship species of the festival to highlight the popular hopes for better ties
among the peoples of the region, starting with a common interest in birds and
nature conservation, RPAO Tan said.
Tan
said the DENR is one of the host agencies of the 9th Philippine Bird
Festival coincides with the presence in Zamboanga City of the migratory Barn
Swallow or layang-layang. This year’s
Philippine Bird Festival logo celebrates the graceful flier from Japan, China
and the Russian Far East, which roosts downtown in hundreds of thousands.
The
wide-ranging Barn Swallow—a symbol of international peace and understanding—was
chosen as the flagship species of the festival to highlight popular hopes for closer
ties among the peoples of the region, starting with common interest in birds
and nature conservation, Tan added.
“The
Philippines—with its 600 species of birds and no fewer than 200 found nowhere
else—is part of the Asia-wide ecosystem and the conservation of habitats will
have positive impact on Asian birdlife and the health and livability in the
entire region,” according to Gina Mapua, Philippine Bird Festival committee
chairperson and president of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP), the
country’s leading bird watching society.
With
its unique habitats across more than 7,100 islands, the Philippines is fast
becoming a magnet for birdwatchers in the Asian region and further afield. Yet,
with its wealth of endemic bird life, Zamboanga City with its 17,414-hectare of
secondary- and old-growth hardwood forest in Pasonanca Natural Park remains
largely overlooked by birdwatchers and eco tour operators.
Danish
ornithologist and long-time Philippine resident Arne Jensen described Pasonanca
Watershed as one of the best-managed nature sites in the whole Philippine and
allows year-round bird-watching. The natural park is the showcase of
Mindanao-endemic species such as the Zamboanga Bulbul, White-eared Tailorbird
and the Mindanao race of the Wattled Broadbill. A short hike from the Pasonanca
Park one can already spot forest species like babblers, flycatchers and
kingfishers. Higher elevations offer rarer and more elusive species such as the
Writhed Hornbill (tuhek) and another
forest jewel, the Steere’s Pitta (babaqua).
The
coastal wetlands of Zamboanga City attract large congregations of migratory terns
(kanaway) and wader species like stilts,
sandpipers and plovers (tarinting).
The fishponds of Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology,
beside historic Fort Pilar, are a nesting area for Rufous and Black-crowned
Night-herons (bakaw) and the site of
the first documented case of breeding Great Egrets (talabong) in the Philippines.
Environment
blogger and WBCP Vice President Maia Tanedo, who documented the breeding egrets,
is optimistic that the Philippine Bird Festival will help improve awareness of
threatened habitats and species in Mindanao. “We hope that the festival will
promote greater public participation in conservation, encourage sustainable
approaches to eco tourism and lead to the protection and expansion of public
green space.”
The
festival will be held at the Paseo del Mar and is open to the public, free of
charge. It will feature bird watching
trips, an exhibit on the natural history and bird photos by the city’s leading
and amateur nature photographers, films and lectures, and forums on eco-tourism
and birdlife management. Organizers said an activity center featuring
bird-themed folklore, crafts and games will be on tap for the young and the
young at heart.
The
Philippine Bird Festival was launched by local bird watching hobbyists in
Quezon City in 2005 and in succeeding years brought the message of birdlife
awareness and conservation to the country’s important bird areas like Balanga
City (Bataan), Manila Bay, Dumaguete City (Negros Oriental), Puerto Princessa (Palawan)
Cebu and Davao City.
Similar
events take place throughout the world each year, attracting large numbers of
bird watchers, scientists and nature enthusiasts. In Asia, the Philippine Bird Festival kicks off the annual
bird festival activities followed closely by Malaysia’s Raptorwatch in March,
the Borneo Bird Festival in June, the Taipei International Birdwatching Fair in
October, the Thailand Birdwatching Fair in early November and culminating in
the 5th Asian Bird fair in Langkawi in the last week of November.
Aside
from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources IX, this year’s
Philippine Bird Festival will be jointly-hosted by the Department of Tourism IX,
City of Zamboanga, International organizations such as the Malaysian Nature
Society, Bird Conservation Society of Thailand, Asian Raptor Research and
Conservation Network, Wild Bird Society of Taipei, Tourism Malaysia and Swarovski Optik will be
participating in the festival, alongside local organizations and institutions
including the Katala Foundation (Palawan), Birdwatch Palawan, Penagmannaki
(Negros Oriental), Haribon Foundation, Earth Island Institute, the Philippine
Native Plant Society Conservation Society and Save Freedom Island Movement.
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