Post by admin on May 9, 2015 8:49:26 GMT 8
Lake Manguao: An avian treasure chest in northern Palawan
Philippines News Agency
May 6, 2015
Puerto Princesa City – With their dusky crowns, napes, shadowy eye stripes, bluish-gray mandibles, thin brown legs, and rusty cinnamon-colored heads and necks radiating under the heat of the golden morning sun, nearly two dozen Philippine ducks (Anas luzonica) can be seen frolicking and winging their ways over Lake Manguao in the once monarch-ruled town of Taytay in northern Palawan.
This duck which has been listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because of “rapid and continuing decline” in population due to “extensive hunting and widespread conversion of wetland habitats,” is one of the avian jewels of the 6.7-square kilometer inland sea that is said to have a 44-square kilometer conforming catchment area.
In addition to the wild duck species in the Anatidae family of birds, Joie Matillano of Western Philippines University (WPU) noted that there were also Oriental dwarf kingfishers (Ceyx erithaca); Blue-eared kingfishers (Alcedo meninting); Common flamebacks (Dinopium javanense); Hooded pittas (Pitta sordida); Common kingfishers (Alcedo atthis); Ashy-headed babblers (Malacocincla cinereiceps); Grey-cheeked bulbul (Alophoixus bres); Grey herons (Ardea cinerea); Great egrets (Ardea alba); Western osprey (Pandion haliaetus); Spangled drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus); and Pin-striped tit babblers (Mixornis gularis) that reside in the only freshwater lake in the province’s mainland.
One of the caretakers, who operates a motorized dinghy that takes tourists around the lake, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that at around 5:30 a.m., Palawan hornbills (Anthracoceros marchei) or talusi can also be witnessed in flocks of eight to about a dozen hopping and settling on tops of trees, and leave before 7 a.m. when the sun has completely risen.
In a survey conducted by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) in 2007, it noted that there were “a total of 126 species of birds recorded in the lake, wherein 24 were migratory, 76 residents, 14 restricted to range Palawan-endemics, seven Philippine-endemics, and five had both resident and migratory populations.”
Eight of the species are under the IUCN’s vulnerable category: The Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes); Falcated ground babbler (Ptilocichla falcate); Palawan flycatcher (Ficedula platenae); Palawan hornbill, Palawan peacock pheasant (Polyplectron emphanum); Blue-headed racquet tail (Prioniturus plateni); Grey imperial pigeon (Ducula pickeringii); and the Philippine duck. Five species were recorded as near-threatened.
The year of the survey, the PCAARRD said, “constituted the first record of the Philippine-endemic duck in northern Palawan. ”
“Matagal na ako dito. Mga humigit-kumulang 15 years, at mas marami sila noon. Kumonti na ngayon (I’ve stayed here for nearly 15 years, and before, there used to be a lot of wild ducks. Their number has greatly reduced),” Gerry, who does not want his full name mentioned, stated.
His testimonial seems to prove what PCAARRD reported that “threats to birds included hunting for local consumption and curiosity, rampant poaching of the critically endangered species, slash-and-burn farming, and selective illegal logging,” which could lead to homegrown extinction.
The PCAARRD survey said that due to Lake Manguao’s “high avian species diversity, its catchment can qualify as an important bird area for conservation.”
Since there is no clear protection effort for Lake Manguao, it is prone to encroachment of squatters, illegal loggers, slash-and-burn activities, and others that can affect it as a biodiversity area.
If Lake Manguao is protected, Taytay can truly claim it “its own,” like Narra that has Estrella Falls; El Nido with its secret lagoon; Puerto Princesa and its underground river, and Coron with its Kayangan Lake. (PNA)
Source: www.mb.com.ph/lake-manguao-an-avian-treasure-chest-in-northern-palawan/#ItehqYxMbsoLkRty.99
Philippines News Agency
May 6, 2015
Puerto Princesa City – With their dusky crowns, napes, shadowy eye stripes, bluish-gray mandibles, thin brown legs, and rusty cinnamon-colored heads and necks radiating under the heat of the golden morning sun, nearly two dozen Philippine ducks (Anas luzonica) can be seen frolicking and winging their ways over Lake Manguao in the once monarch-ruled town of Taytay in northern Palawan.
This duck which has been listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because of “rapid and continuing decline” in population due to “extensive hunting and widespread conversion of wetland habitats,” is one of the avian jewels of the 6.7-square kilometer inland sea that is said to have a 44-square kilometer conforming catchment area.
In addition to the wild duck species in the Anatidae family of birds, Joie Matillano of Western Philippines University (WPU) noted that there were also Oriental dwarf kingfishers (Ceyx erithaca); Blue-eared kingfishers (Alcedo meninting); Common flamebacks (Dinopium javanense); Hooded pittas (Pitta sordida); Common kingfishers (Alcedo atthis); Ashy-headed babblers (Malacocincla cinereiceps); Grey-cheeked bulbul (Alophoixus bres); Grey herons (Ardea cinerea); Great egrets (Ardea alba); Western osprey (Pandion haliaetus); Spangled drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus); and Pin-striped tit babblers (Mixornis gularis) that reside in the only freshwater lake in the province’s mainland.
One of the caretakers, who operates a motorized dinghy that takes tourists around the lake, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that at around 5:30 a.m., Palawan hornbills (Anthracoceros marchei) or talusi can also be witnessed in flocks of eight to about a dozen hopping and settling on tops of trees, and leave before 7 a.m. when the sun has completely risen.
In a survey conducted by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) in 2007, it noted that there were “a total of 126 species of birds recorded in the lake, wherein 24 were migratory, 76 residents, 14 restricted to range Palawan-endemics, seven Philippine-endemics, and five had both resident and migratory populations.”
Eight of the species are under the IUCN’s vulnerable category: The Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes); Falcated ground babbler (Ptilocichla falcate); Palawan flycatcher (Ficedula platenae); Palawan hornbill, Palawan peacock pheasant (Polyplectron emphanum); Blue-headed racquet tail (Prioniturus plateni); Grey imperial pigeon (Ducula pickeringii); and the Philippine duck. Five species were recorded as near-threatened.
The year of the survey, the PCAARRD said, “constituted the first record of the Philippine-endemic duck in northern Palawan. ”
“Matagal na ako dito. Mga humigit-kumulang 15 years, at mas marami sila noon. Kumonti na ngayon (I’ve stayed here for nearly 15 years, and before, there used to be a lot of wild ducks. Their number has greatly reduced),” Gerry, who does not want his full name mentioned, stated.
His testimonial seems to prove what PCAARRD reported that “threats to birds included hunting for local consumption and curiosity, rampant poaching of the critically endangered species, slash-and-burn farming, and selective illegal logging,” which could lead to homegrown extinction.
The PCAARRD survey said that due to Lake Manguao’s “high avian species diversity, its catchment can qualify as an important bird area for conservation.”
Since there is no clear protection effort for Lake Manguao, it is prone to encroachment of squatters, illegal loggers, slash-and-burn activities, and others that can affect it as a biodiversity area.
If Lake Manguao is protected, Taytay can truly claim it “its own,” like Narra that has Estrella Falls; El Nido with its secret lagoon; Puerto Princesa and its underground river, and Coron with its Kayangan Lake. (PNA)
Source: www.mb.com.ph/lake-manguao-an-avian-treasure-chest-in-northern-palawan/#ItehqYxMbsoLkRty.99