5th Phil. Bird Festival focus on bird migration

As expected, bird watchers, conservationists and nature enthusiasts flocked to the Bataan Provincial Capitol grounds in Balanga City, Bataan last October 9 and 10 for the 5th annual Philippine Bird Festival, the country's largest celebration of avifaunal diversity and bird lore awareness.

Balanga holds the Philippine record for hosting the said event while on the other hand, the Philippine Bird Festival marked the arrival from the Asian mainland and Japan of wintering shorebirds with the official dedication of the Balanga Nature and Wetland Park, the first protected wetland park in the whole Manila Bay area.

According to the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP), the country's leading bird watching society and organizer of the Philippine Bird Festival, the wetlands of Puerto Rivas in Balanga City attract one of the largest concentration of migrant shorebirds and waterfowl anywhere in the Philippines.

This year's bird festival themed Themed Ibong Dayo, Kaibigan Tayo! (The Migrant Birds: Our Friends), aimed to drum public support for the conservation and awareness of the Balanga wetlands, where more than 15,000 individual birds were on record during the Asian Waterbird Census in January.
The said festival held different activities such as exhibit of bird photos, lectures and film screenings at the People’s Center in the capitol grounds, which was opened to the public free of charge. An activity center featuring bird-themed games; arts and crafts and face painting were carried out for the young and the young at heart as the provincial government staged a trade fair on the Capitol grounds that would mark the best products from the province’s 12 towns.
This year’s Philippine Bird Festival is sponsored by the City of Balanga and the Province of Bataan, Department- of Tourism, Team Energy Foundation, Genesis Transport, primer Group, Recreational Outdoor Exchange (ROX), & Columbia Outdoor Wear.

For inquiries, contact the government city of Balanga at (63) 47-2373510 or visit their website http://www.cityofbalanga.gov.ph.