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July 14, 2005 Volume 1, Issue 1 Wild about Birds 14 July 2005 Newsletter of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines WBCP is two years old Inside this issue: The Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) celebrates its second birthday today, 14 July, with WBCP is two 1 many feathers in its cap. years old It has just been declared a World Bank environmental champion. Some of its members took part in a scientific expedition that discovered the Calayan Rail, a new world bird species. Two of these Club bags members have since received a British Petroleum Conservation grant for the preservation of this World Bank 1 species. (See stories on pages 1-2). It has just published the second of its annual database of birds award seen in the Philippines; its Records and Rarities Committee ensures that this database is compiled in accordance with international scientific procedures. Calayan Rail Not bad for a Club that began as Birdwatch Philippines on 9 January 2003, an e-group of weekend discoverers win 2 birdwatchers. With the aim of “promoting birdwatching and the responsible enjoyment of award nature”, the e-group established WBCP at the Manila Zoo on 14 July 2003. The Club is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its founder members are Tina WBCP team Alejandro, Kitty Arce, Mads Bajarias, Ricky de Castro, Carmela Española, Lu-Ann Fuentes, Drew carries out 2 Galano, Arne Jensen, Ned Liuag, Mike Lu, James McCarthy and Jon Villasper. island census The rest, as they say, is history. Since its inception, the Club has conducted 51 guided trips for the public, school groups, government bodies and private companies. It has carried out 78 birding Bird’s-eye view 2 trips for members. It has attracted widespread attention and has been the subject of several television programmes and newspaper articles. Metro Manila Acknowledgement of its know-how has led to invitations from government and other bodies to birding: 3 participate in numerous environment-related activities. The Club now contributes regularly to American War the Asian Waterbird Census that takes place in Manila Bay and Candaba Swamp (among other Cemetery places in the Philippines). Club officers have acted as resource persons for local governments: in Parañaque on declaring the Tambo mudflats as a bird sanctuary, in Candaba for the creation of a Meet the 4 protected area in the marshlands, in Valenzuela City on the adoption of the Black-crowned Execom Night-Heron as the city’s flagship species. Membership for the first half of 2005 stood at 114, compared to 117 for 2004. Most members Highlights from 5 are Filipinos from Metro Manila. Among the Club’s international birder members are Philippine the field residents Tim Fisher, one of the authors of the premier Guide to the Birds of the Philippines and Arne Jensen, Danish ornithologist and impassioned conservationist; Desmond Allen, based in the United Kingdom; Steve Pryor from Italy; and founder James McCarthy, now back in his native Bird gallery 8 Britain. á Club bags World Bank award On 20 June, WBCP received recognized the awardees as not sure we deserve this one of seven of the World role models. “The challenge,” award. But I am sure we shall Bank’s first-ever “environmental he said, “is to replicate and continue to birdwatch and to champion” awards in the scale up best practices.” educate people about our country. These were given at WBCP was commended for country’s avifauna diversity. the launch of the Bank’s identifying critical habitats and Philippine Environment Monitor “We shall continue to raising awareness of the need 2004, an annual report on the conduct monthly guided trips to protect them. state of the environment. for the public. We shall Mike Defensor, Secretary, continue to contribute to The awards honour individuals Department of the Philippine bird records. And and organizations that have Environment and Natural when we see bird habitats demonstrated a commitment to Resources, presented the being destroyed and bird environmental conservation and awards at the Visitor’s Center populations diminishing, we protection while relying on of the Ninoy Aquino Park in will take a stand. You will Photo: Gerry de Villa de Villa Gerry Photo: their own resources. Joachim Quezon City. In his continue to hear from us.”á The environmental champion award. von Amsberg, World Bank acceptance speech, Mike Lu, country director, said the Bank WBCP President, said: “I am Calayan Rail discoverers win award Bird's-eye view By Ipat Luna Carmela Española and Carl Oliveros, members of the team that discovered “The discovery of the Calayan “‘Great Egret’? That’s what you call the Calayan Rail, have won a first-year Rail is a wonderful us? I think I prefer ‘Oh Great Silver Award from the British Petroleum demonstration Egret’.” Sheepishly, I said there Conservation Programme. The award that the world still has much was a Little Egret and an will fund a 14-month project focusing on to reveal to us.” — Intermediate Egret. He just happened to be bigger than they the endemic Philippine rail species. The Nigel Collar, WBCP team, which was among 28 were. He was no deity. Birdlife International chosen from a field of 400 applicants, "You live here? Like all the time?" received the award on 23 June 2005 at a I was flabbergasted. Here I was ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National doing my best to keep this habitat Museum of the American Indian in The award, amounting to US$12,500, for the birds and they think it's Washington, D.C. will be used for baseline research on worth shit. This was supposed to be the population and distribution of the a simple request, but it was quickly Carmela and Carl then joined other Calayan Rail, to assess threats to its turning out to be a prosecution of awardees in a training workshop run by survival, and to formulate a the way I live. I could not summon the Smithsonian’s Monitoring and conservation action plan in my defensive responses, not when Assessment of Biodiversity Programme. collaboration with local government, both the bird and I were being The workshop covered biological NGOs and other institutions. The assailed by the stench of my monitoring and surveying techniques, project envisions an environmental species. conservation education and people- education campaign in schools and “Not to say we can't find what we oriented research. forest communities. á need here on the way through, you see. You’re here all the time but you’ve given up this place. Only Boracay for the tourists need to be WBCP team carries out E. coli-free. I used to know the guys who lived here.” He pointed his island census beak to the vast expanse of dead By Mads Bajarias water we call Manila Bay. I wanted to get to the point. Colleagues in Japan went to a bird Wildlife biologist Carmela Española The survey aimed to ascertain the rail’s park and made a plaster cast of a recently led a team of conservationists population and distribution. It also bird's footprint in the mud. They on a month-and-a-half survey of the sought to identify future courses of used it to sign a petition for the Calayan Rail. The survey took place from action for conservationists and local birds to keep the habitat. I thought 27 March to 11 May 2005 on Calayan stakeholders. The team networked the tactic was clever but was Island, the species’ sole known habitat. with local government officers, notably missing the actual consent of the The ground-dwelling rail inhabits a forest the Governor, Mayor and barangay petitioner. I had a tough time growing on coralline limestone in central leaders. They discussed ways of arranging this interview, but it seemed this bird was even more Calayan. (It was first recorded for balancing the island’s human population interested in why we do what we do science in 2004 and Carmela is credited with long-term biodiversity to ourselves. with having been the first to see it during conservation. that scientific expedition.) Prior to the Pressing concern Continued on page 3 survey, almost nothing else was known about its life cycle, habitat requirements, A pressing concern that came up during and the threats to its survival as a the informal discussions was the species. prevalence of slash-and-burn activities in the dry season. The census team documented instances of this Playback: a surveying tool unsustainable agricultural practice The team used the playback method to during their stay. detect the rail’s presence. This entailed Team members obtaining a recording of the rail’s call and playing the recording at specified Team members were Carl Oliveros, intervals in pinpointed areas around the Mads Bajarias (both WBCP members), island. The number and behaviour of the forester Baby Jhane Clemeno and birds attracted to the recording, along expedition cook Nancy Dian. Various with type of vegetation and other local guides, who also acted as porters, pertinent information, were then noted translators and spotters, provided by the census-takers. The census points invaluable assistance. Mads gives a vivid were determined from interviews account of the expedition’s experiences conducted by team members with key (and encounters with mosquitoes and informants, mainly subsistence hunters in the local soap-munching madman) on the forests of Calayan. the WBCP website.á Survey objective Cartoon: Peter Sutcliffe Wild about Birds. Volume 1, Issue 1. 14 July 2005. - 2 - Metro Manila birding: American War Cemetery By Ned Liuag Not far from the hubbub of the Makati greenery and towering trees, the green deep feathers.
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