It's a Bird! The Philippine Duck - Anas luzonica - Hunted and Killed

2007.12.14 Manila, Philippines

It's a Bird! The Philippine Duck - Anas luzonica - Hunted and Killed

The Philippine Duck is a gentle and shy Philippine endemic bird. Just like the Philippine Eagle, it can only be found here in the Philippines. The natural geographic and biological evolution that slowly took place upon millions of years which made this species unique to the Philippines is of such great value. Personally, I consider these birds a national treasure.

Of all the birding trips CJ David made, he hasn't been lucky to spot one to observe and photograph yet. However, these birds are easier to find for some people as I found alarming photos of dead Philippine ducks when friends of mine, a biologist, a birder, and a journalist, all told me separately of this online petition by this gentleman from Negros island named Josef Sagemuller to stop the massacre of our endemic birds!

This is one of the photos I found at the petition site which came from the Web site of the hunters. More disturbing photos of dead birds can be found at the petition site.

Our Philippine Duck is not just endemic. It's in the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red list of Threatened Species classified as VU = vulnerable . With an estimated remaining population of less than 10,000.

Our Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, written to conserve and protect wildlife species and their habitats to promote ecological balance and enhance biological diversity, states that the killing of wildlife is illegal.

I hope this killing will stop soon. I want to see these ducks alive, not dead as an extinct stuffed animal in a museum nor as a hunting game. I'd rather shoot toy ducks at the carnival but then again, maybe not.

Thanks to fellow birder and photographer Romy Ocon for sharing his photo of a flying Philippine Duck above, also posted at his blog - http://romyocon.blogspot.com. More bird photos of Romy Ocon can be found in his photo gallery - http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/.

>The "STOP THIS PHILIPPINE ENDEMIC BIRD MASSACRE !!!" Petition Site

>The IUCN Red List - Philippine duck

>The Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of the Philippines

It's a Bird! Pied Triller at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial

2004.08.21 Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines

So I, CJ David, and me went on an introductory birding trip with Mike Lu, the President of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines along with my sister at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, in Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila.

I saw a number of birds I never thought existed and can be observed here in Manila.

In this photo is a Pied Triller (Lalage Nigra) a resident of the Philippines, 165mm in length, common in trees and open country, gardens in towns, and open scrub, singly or in pairs, in the lowlands.

It's a Bird! Blue-tailed Bee-eater in La Carlota City

2005.04.21 La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

CJ David spotted this Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) along the higway while driving.

Photograph was taken using a Canon EOS 300D with 80-400mm lens.

This bird, about 290mm in length is a resident of the Philippines fairly common in open country usually associated with water along rivers, marshes and ricefields.

It has a cousin - the Blue-throated Bee-eater which I also encountered in Subic, Zambales and have observed catching an insect on the fly! Wow!

It's a Bird! Pink-necked Green Pigeon in Cadiz City

2005.03.18 Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

CJ David was in the island of Negros doing some documentary work. It was 5-6 AM when I noticed this plump silhouette of a pigeon-looking bird perched on a power cable along a residential area. It was a pigeon indeed as I trained my binoculars to it while slowly changing my orientation to face west to see this bird clearly with the sun behind me.

I grabbed my Canon EOS 300D camera and fixed my Canon 80-400 mm telephoto lens and clicked. Wow! A male Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans). Uncommon in forest and forest patches from lowlands to at least 1000m according to my Bird Guidebook. It was my lucky day.