With a heightening Tourism Success, Bohol’s Wildlife is in Slump

I visited the province of Bohol only twice. The first one was year 2008 and the latest was last January 14-16 this year. It was purely official as I was part of the team being assigned to replicate its Loboc River Cruise project as aggressively persisted by my town’s new Local Chief Executive. It was quite exciting because in all honesty I really love to be back to this laid back province. I always appreciate how Bohol authorities kept this kind of environment despite its heightening tourism success.

  

My second visit here did not exactly give me positive impression especially on the part of wildlife conservation and protection. After twelve years I expect the number of fauna species would grow in considerable quantity. Alas, it did not happen. In fact the wildlife here is in slump I should say. The Philippine Tarsier for example, who were very much visible in countless figure just right in the façade of Loboc River Cruise site in 2008 during my first visit, is nowhere to be found today. My colleagues and the locals told me if I want to see the Tarsier I need to proceed to Bilar Wildlife Park which we all eagerly did but there were only three Tarsiers left there, one male, one female and a juvenile. There is an obvious plight of this Philippine species and if left unattended will surely be in danger of total evaporation.

With a compressed schedule I was not able to visit Olango Island and Rajah Sikatuna Natural Park, two good birding sites in Bohol. But since our hotel is located in an isolated part of Panglao I inserted a short birding in its mangrove forest and coconut plantation where common birds were present such as Black-naped Oriole, Common Kingfisher, Olive-backed Sunbird, Common Sandpiper, Striated Heron and Grey-tailed tattler. There are no other good species in Panglao maybe because it is now one of Bohol’s most populated sites. 

During our Loboc river cruise there are no birds either despite the good forest along its perimeter. And even the Chocolate Hills in Carmen and the Man-made Forest which I anticipated to have some nice offerings were in discreet avian mode. When we navigated to Balicasag and Virgin Islands the Dolphins, which were supposedly detectable few years back now seldom shows up. The thicker magnitude of arrivals in these islands have shy away ocean creatures and left others vulnerable. The people doing snorkeling in Balicasag overpowers its coral reefs.  And the lone Sea Turtle, which is a prime attraction in the island, is being disturbed by the influx of people wanting to see it which to me like a gang rape of sort. I do not really know if a carrying capacity study is being considered in Balicasag and Virgin Islands. From a visual analysis the tourists visiting here are really in greater number.

The thousands of people visiting Bohol has taken a toll to its wildlife. As a province depending heavily on tourism being a primary source of income I think the concept of “The More the Merrier” in terms of arrivals is the name of the game and the number one thing in mind for its people and officials. If concerned authorities could not directly turn things around for Bohol I am worried the wildlife here will slowly but surely be phasing out sooner than later.

Team SJR all set for 7-Eleven Foot Race

Team St. Joseph Runners (SJR) will be fielding in participants to the 3^rd leg of 7-Eleven Run scheduled on February 1-2, 2020 at the Car Park of SM Ecoland, Davao City. For three consecutive years this running club from Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur has been supporting the run and quite a handful of members kept coming year in and year out to remain true to its purpose of advocating healthy lifestyle and strengthening bond through running.

In its early existence, 7-Eleven Run has instantly made its presence felt and started to become one of the countries premiere footraces. With the variety of its race kit inclusions and finish line collaterals 7-Eleven is also considered as the grandest road race by runners nationwide. Three major Philippine cities in Manila, Cebu and Davao will simultaneously pull the gun start triggers on February 1 which will eventually parade most of the country’s most respected athletes.

In a media launch held at 7-Eleven Mamay Road Store, organizers said they are expecting around 6,000 runners joining the 2020 version with the addition of 1-kilometer category intended for kids and families. There will be a total of twelve categories this year to include 3K, 5K, 10K, 16K, 21K, 32K, 42K, 5K Buddy, 10K Buddy, 21K Relay and 42K Relay. Cash prizes will be up for grabs as they are earmarking an amount of around a million to be given away to top finishers. The top 3 Filipino male and female winners of the 21K, 32K and 42K categories as well as the overall first place winners of the 21K Relay and 42K relay will join an international marathon in Asia, all-expense paid. All finishers are also entitled of a Finisher Jersey, Finisher Medal and plenty of freebies from sponsoring entities.

Technically, there will be a new route of the Davao race this year. Race Director Tom Tan revealed that they will be utilizing north-bound roads of downtown Davao particularly along Sandawa, Quirino, JP Laurel and Lanang areas.

Despite some toils in its online registration process, 7-Eleven slots are selling like hotcakes. As of this writing, only few slots left for 32K and 42K while the rest are already full, a clear manifestation that 7-Eleven Run is warmly embraced by running communities nationwide. For those who did not register yet, you may take your chance of filling vacant or unclaimed slots via www.run711.com. An onsite registration will also be set anytime soon so stay tuned and keep posted.

The 7-Eleven Run is co-presented by the following: Gatorade, Kopiko, Le Minerale, Mogu Mogu, Absolute, Aquafina, Bear Brand, B’lue, San Miguel Beer, Selecta, Summit Mineral Water, Wilkins, Pocari Sweat, Refresh Mineral Water, Safeguard, Sip Purified Water, C2, Cobra Energy Drink, Cocal Cola and Cornetto. 

Chinese Crested Tern and other Waders in Panabo

Panabo is always considered as one of the good birding sites in Mindanao especially during migration season. The big fish pond areas fronting Davao Gulf serve as refuge to different migrant and resident species of wetland birds.

In two separate occasions I was able to join two birding sessions in Panabo with mentor Pete Simpson. The goal was to see the Chinese Crested Tern (CCT), considered to be one of the rarest birds in the world with a decreasing population due to breeding site disturbance, residential and commercial development, biological resource use, human intrusions, invasion of problematic species, pollution and climate and weather change. BirdLife International has been placing Chinese Crested Tern into the Critically Endangered species list.

We were unfortunate in our first attempt last December 7 because the bird was a no-show. We stayed in the Seaside resort where according to Pete the bird always perch in the bamboo post for seven hours amidst the very hot and humid day. Some interesting species showed up though and most of them are lifers to me such as the Chinese Egret, Greater Sand Plover, Pacific Golden Plover and Black-headed Gull. From that session I realized how complicated it is to identify waders because from distant location they really looked identical. The challenge has always been on taking full note of the differences physically such as bill forms, plumage colors and structures and even the behavior which I am learning throughout the days of birding activities with Pete.

The second session last January 4 was a lot better. When we arrived in seaside it only took couple of minutes for Pete to set up his scope and the elusive bird was seen perching in a bamboo post of ocean fish cage to the delight of my Big Year team. It was a mega right there and then, unlocking another sporadic species in my birding list. The distance from our base to the CCT site was very far that left me with a noisy photograph of the bird, another good motivation to be back in the site anytime soon and get a little closer during high tide.

Other than the CCT, Panabo is really a sanctuary of wetland birds. Pete recorded a whopping 45 species in just three hours with observations of some lifers Long-toed Stint, Lesser Sand Plover, Kentish Plover, Great Knot, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Terek Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Gull-billed Tern, Little Tern and a really full-packed flock of Pacific Golden Pover.

  

This record is a good start as we open another big birding year in 2020 with my team. The mentorship of Pete is always helpful to pursue our goal of seeing more migrant shorebirds. It was also a sort of reunion for me and Department of Tourism ASEC Robby Alabado who first introduced me to bird watching last 2014. The inputs he gave were enriching us and binding us to do birding in a more vehement fashion.