Monday, March 06, 2006
Bird sanctuary thrives in ex-pepper plantation
TACURONG CITY, Sultan Kudarat -- In a patch of land barely two hectares wide by a riverbank in this city, an amalgam of melodious harmony by a band of birds at the crack of dawn has become a beautiful music to the ears of residents.
Not just a handful but thousands of them also dot the skies during sunsets, making bird watching a pleasurable, unforgettable experience that enriches one's soul.
Welcome to the Baras Bird Sanctuary, a piece of land, which is previously the site of a black pepper plantation owned by Rey Oliver Malana.
It is home to an estimate of more than 10,000 birds -- among them the nocturnal Black Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax) and cattle egret. The former is believed to have originated from Japan and the latter, which locals called "tulabong," is endemic in the area, colored white, and is commonly seen in Philippine rice fields.
Malana considers losing his black pepper plantation to the birds a big blessing.
"You cannot compare our bird sanctuary to the rest of the bird sanctuaries in the Philippines. The night herons, from being a migratory bird, have made our place their permanent residence," he said.
Malana, a former seaman who have seen exotic birds in other countries during docking breaks, first noticed four night herons in his then thriving black pepper plantation way back in 1996.
Noting that the night herons like to rest on the madre de cacao trees where he grows his black peppers, Malana said he decided not to prune them.
Eventually the black pepper plants become unproductive because the sunlight failed to significantly penetrate the shade provided by madre de cacao trees.
Malana recalled that his pepper plants would not bear fruits if the madre de cacaos are not pruned.
With the madre cacaos left to themselves, the birds kept coming back, bringing along new companions.
In 2000, Malana said the birds' population rapidly multiplied because they also have already been hatching eggs and continuously building nests at the farm.
By this time, other birds such as intermediate egret, great egret and rufus night heron have been monitored to also stay in the farm, said Romeo Jacobo Sr., one of the four wildlife wardens paid by the City Government to take care of the bird's habitat.
The City Government declared Baras a bird sanctuary on August 7, 2002.
"Before the crack of dawn, it's beautiful here because of the birds' sounds," Jacobo said.
With the gushing of a nearby river, and the brushing of the leaves by the wind, the sounds of the birds altogether brings a natural orchestra only nature can offer.
The birds hunt for food, particularly fishes, in Liguasan Marsh, Lake Buluan, and Lake Sebu.
The birds are also monitored to be hunting food in the remote coastal town of Lebak in Sultan Kudarat.
"They leave around 5:30 in the afternoon and come back at 4:30 in the morning. These are their established routine," Jacobo said.
Aside from fishes, the birds feed on frogs, lizards worms, rats and even newly hatched chicks if unguarded.
Malana said that while maintaining the birds is not costly since there are no feeding costs, the problem is brought by humans hunting the birds for food.
He wanted to establish a foundation that will run the sanctuary but monetary difficulties prevented him from realizing the objective.
In 2004, Malana finally decided to lease the sanctuary to the government for P100,000 a year for 10 years because on his own, it has become difficult for him to protect the birds from hunters.
The bird, by the way, taste just like chickens.
"Under the agreement, the City Government will pay for four wildlife guards who will watch the birds from hunters," he said.
Malana was also designated by the City Government as administrator of the sanctuary.
Plans are up to build a tall steel viewing deck but he lamented that the local government has yet to release the funds.
"I hope they would release the money as it had been promised for quite a time already," Malana said.
Malana said he does not want to fully develop the place commercially since this might disturb the birds and would cause them to abandon the sanctuary.
"What we want is only to have the basic facilities also like a receiving hall where we can brief visitors and stressed to them the significance of caring for the environment," he added.
Tourists can enter the sanctuary by paying P10 for adults and five pesos for children.
The population of the birds is expected to multiply over the years granting the conservation efforts directed at the sanctuary.
Breeding season is at its peak from February to March but they never stop laying eggs all year round.
A night heron's egg is slightly bigger than a pingpong ball.
A fully grown bird could weigh to more or less a kilo.
Malana said that the bird sanctuary impressed representatives of Haribon Foundation, an environment group.
"There's nothing like Baras Bird Sanctuary across the Philippines," he quoted the foundation's officials as saying.
Looking back, Malana noted he was glad he planted black peppers, and though it was no longer productive, they now have thousands of birds to boast off. (RBS)
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(March 6, 2006 issue)
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