GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Thousands of local and foreign tourists, mostly wildlife and bird enthusiasts, are expected to join the first-ever Raptor Watch Festival on Friday in the coastal municipality of Glan in Sarangani Province.
Cornelio Ramirez Jr., executive director of the Sarangani Environmental Conservation and Protection Center (ECPC), said Thursday they are all set for the event to be held at the famed Raptor Hill, Barangay Rio del Pilar in Glan.
Organized by the provincial government of Sarangani, he said the festival is mainly aimed to highlight and raise awareness on the conservation and protection of the area's ecosystems, especially its thriving wildlife.
The presence of the migratory birds of prey, also called raptors, every October in four barangays of Glan has become a top attraction these past years for local and foreign bird enthusiasts.
At the same time last year, ECPC personnel recorded the presence of around 135,000 migratory birds in Barangays Rio del Pilar, Laguimit, Cross and Batulaki, which are part of the province's Mount Latian complex.
Among those spotted were Chinese Sparrowhawks, Gray-faced Buzzards, Peregrine Falcons and Western Osprey.
Ramirez said their studies showed that the birds mainly came from Japan and Taiwan, reaching the area by way of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, portions of Visayas and Cape San Agustin in Davao Oriental.
He said the Mount Latian area serves as the “stopover” and “roosting site” of the migratory raptors, which eventually fly off to islands in Indonesia.
"These birds pass by our area twice a year, from September to October and March to April," he said, adding that the birds regularly leave Taiwan and Japan every autumn.
Aside from birdwatching, Martinez said festival participants will join the planting of some 2,500 fruit and forest trees in the identified "roosting sites" of the migratory birds.
He added that they will also conduct lectures highlighting the roles of the migratory raptors in the ecosystems, especially in terms of natural pest control.
Ramirez said the event is supported by the Raptorwatch Network Philippines, Japanese Society for the Preservation of Birds, Philippine Eagle Foundation, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Tourism and the municipal government of Glan. (PNA)
