Manila Times, January 12, 2010 12:19 pm

BALANGA City, Bataan, Jan. 12 — Representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as well as foreign and local wild bird clubs recently counted 18,679 migratory water birds present for one day in the wetlands of this city, higher compared to 15,251 birds found during the same period last year.

Danish Arne Jensen, a bird expert, announced the result of the tally after careful deliberations of the bird count submitted by DENR in Region 3, & the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) headed by its president Michael Lu.

Dan Miguel led the DENR group in the census of the birds that started before Sunday daybreak.

Jensen said that among the common species of birds found in the city are the Asian Golden Plover and Kentish Plover.

“The number of these birds is quite high in Balanga and exceeded the one percent threshold required of the migratory bird population,” the foreign bird expert explained.

Aside from the plovers, also present in the wetlands of Tortugas, Sibacan, Puerto Rivas Ibaba and Puerto Rivas Itaas, all seaside villages in Balanga, are bird specie terns, egrets, black-winged stilt, heron and black-headed sea gull.

Rodolfo de Mesa, Balanga City administrator, said City Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III is very happy to learn that the number of migratory birds counted Sunday exceeded the number on January 11, 2009.

Lu said that the census of water birds is being undertaken globally to determine if the population of the water birds is increasing or decreasing.

“If the decrease in number is caused by the destruction of the habitat, for example, then measures have to be undertaken,” he said.

Data in all countries have to be collated to get a global census of all water birds both local and migratory, the WBCP head said. (PNA)