TACURONG CITY, Sultan Kudarat -- Known for its famous Baras Bird Sanctuary, this city opened Friday the two-day 12th Philippine Bird Fest (PFB) on May 11-12.
Mayor Lina Montilla said the city has been holding a bird fest annually on the local level, and this is their first time to host it involving national bird advocates.
“When I attended the bird fest in Negros I told them that my city is interested to hold the PFB. That’s where the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines and foreigners camein to check the area,” Montilla added.
Montilla said the municipality has a total of 20,000 birds within the one-hectare bird sanctuary located in Barangay Baras.
“Currently, we are developing another 1.5 hectare as an expansion since the number of birds are increasing,” Montilla said.
She also stressed that the city has also strengthened local laws that restrict hunters in the protected bird sanctuary.
“We really hope that this sanctuary will be noticed, and we are welcoming help from funding agencies in order to protect and improve this area,” Montilla added.
Meanwhile, Willem van de Ven, president of Wild Bird Club of the Philippines said the Baras bird sanctuary has become a breeding area for various bird species.
“We are promoting the area as an ecotourism and bird watching destination,” he added.
He said that as of 2018, a total of 695 species of birds were found in the country, of which 241 are endemic or found only in the Philippines. (Cherry Mae Palicte/PNA)
