WBCP member and Bird Festival committee chair Alice Villa-Real said the project hopes to introduce to the country an event to raise awareness to the diversity of bird life in the country. Similar events take place throughout the world each year, attracting large numbers of bird watchers, scientists and nature enthusiasts. In Asia, some of the well-known bird watching events are Malaysia's Fraser's Hill International Bird Race and the Singapore Bird Race and the annual Taipei International Birdwatching Fair in Taiwan.

The idea for the project was conceived by local bird watching hobbyists in early June and has received the support and encouragement from conservation organizations and the business sector since. Among the exhibitors at the event are Philippine Eagle Foundation, Philippine Cockatoo Foundation, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), My Zoo Foundation, Conservation International, Center for Environmental Awareness and Education (CEAE), Winner Foundation, National Museum-Manila, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) and Manila Bay Environmental Management Project (DENR-NCR-MBEMP).

"The first Philippine Bird Festival is going to be a watershed event for the bird watching hobby and for nature conservation in this country," said WBCP president Michael Lu. "On behalf of the Executive Committee, I encourage and invite members and friends of the Club to register their support for the project."

580 species can be found in the Philippines, of which 176 species are unique to the archipelago. The alarming rate of forest, parkland and wetland destruction poses a serious threat to the diversity of wildlife in this country, which groups like the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines hopes to arrest by promoting a love for the outdoors, conservation awareness and nature-friendly development planning.

The Wild Bird Club of the Philippines invites interested organizations and individuals as co-sponsors of this event.

The Festival Committee heads include Dindo Llana, Jomike Tejido, Jon Villasper, Anna Gonzales, Ann Lim, Robert Alejandro, Jo Solis, & Trinket Canlas.

More on Wild Bird Club of the Philippines

Cited by the World Bank as an Environmental Champion in the Philippine Environmental Monitor 2004 for identifying critical habitats and raising awareness of the need to protect them.

Provides technical assistance to government agencies such as the DENR-NCR and local government units.

More than 130 club members in 2005. Most members are Metro Manila-based, however we also have members in ten provinces and five countries.

Conducted more than 50 trips from January to June 2005 (24 for 1st timers and 26 for club members).

Initiated the first Asian Waterbird Census with the DENR-NCR in coastal Navotas and Las Pinas-Parañaque in 2004.

Spearheaded the Asian Waterbird Census with DENR Region IV in Candaba, Pampanga in 2005.

Started the country's only publicly available bird list where more than 140 species has been recorded in Metro Manila alone.

Explored sites previously undiscovered by biologists and bird-watchers.