LINGAYEN, Pangasinan: Birdwatching will soon be an added tourist attraction in Pangasinan, the provincial tourism officer here said on Monday, January 29.
Maria Luisa Elduayan, provincial tourism and cultural affairs office chief, said that the Department of Tourism has partnered with the Pangasinan provincial government for the development of birdwatching sites as destinations in Pangasinan.
"We have validated the birdwatching destinations in Pangasinan in 2021 and 2022. Those frequently visited by birdwatchers and enthusiasts are the towns of Balungao, Bani, Mangatarem, Alaminos and Lingayen," said Elduayan.
Maria Imelda Favi, president of the Athena Travel Tours and founder of the Pangasinan Tour Operators and Travel Agencies Association Inc., said Pangasinan will make a good birdwatching destination because there are many bird species to see in the province.
But she said tour operators in the province have yet to include birdwatching in their tour packages because they could not provide yet the equipment, such as binoculars and telescopes, for the tourists.
"For bird enthusiasts who can bring their own equipment, we can design a good tour package for them that will include other tourist attractions of the province," Favi said.
According to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) in Alaminos City, there are 13 birdwatching sites in western Pangasinan.
These are in the wetlands of Balingasay, Lambes-Zaragoza, Arnedo Coast, and Santiago Island in Bolinao, Nayom, Bayambang-Batang-Cato in Infanta, Bangrin Marine Protected Area in Bani, Dasol Bay in Dasol, Cacayasen in Burgos, Mona Mangrove Forest, Pangapisan, and Bued Mangrove Park in Alaminos City, and Pangascasan in Sual.
In a waterbird census that the Cenro conducted from January 7 to 22 this year, the areas teeming with birds are the Bangrin Marine Protected Area in Bani, where more than 12,000 birds were observed and Lambes-Zaragoza in Bolinao, where almost 2,000 birds were seen.
The dominant waterbird species in the areas are little egrets, intermediate egrets and great egrets. Sightings of a Brahminy kite, a Pacific golden plover, a barred rail and a Java sparrow were also reported.
Elduayan said that Lingayen is an important birdwatching site because in 2021, a local birdwatcher spotted an endangered bird species in a wetland in the town.
The bird, a Chinese crested tern (Thalasseus bernsteini), was first spotted in Pangasinan on Aug. 5, 2023 by local bird watcher Kim Manzon Cancino.
The bird is one of the world's rarest species. It was only the third sighting of the species in Luzon in the last 116 years, and the first in Pangasinan.
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