oscar's posts with tag: birds
Email from Michael Lu dated ...THOUSANDS INDONESIAN PARROTS ARE SMUGGLED TO THE PHILIPPINES The already dwindling population of Indonesian parrots due to deforestation is further threatened by poaching. About 10,000 parrots (Lories and Cockatoos) are caught from the wild in North Halmahera, Indonesia, each year to supply the domestic and the international illegal wildlife trade.  (left, Cacatua alba. Photo courtesy of dkimages.com) In their latest report entitled 'PIRATED PARROTS', the Indonesian wildlife protection NGO ProFauna Indonesia, revealed the evidence on the smuggling of wild caught parrots in Sulawesi and North Halmahera in Indonesia to Philippines during their investigation. The investigation, which was supported by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and conducted in 2007, uncovered the parrot smuggling network from Indonesia to the Philippines. The parrots poached in North Halmahera are; white Cockatoos (Cacatua alba), chattering Lorys (Lorius garrulus), Eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus) and the violet-necked Lorys (Eos squamata). The Eclectus parrot is a protected species which is prohibited for trade.  (left, Eclectus roratus. Photo courtesy of dkimages.com) The catch quota of white cockatoos (Cacatua alba) for 2007, issued by the General Director of PHKA, of the Indonesian Forestry Department, is 10 pairs and only for breeding purpose.However, the investigation revealed that at least 200 white Cockatoos were caught from the wild in North Halmahera in 2007, which far exceeded the quota. The red-and-blue Lorys (Eos histrio), endangered species, are also being smuggled. Fortunately, the red-and-blue Lory poaching and trade have decreased drastically due to active confiscation operations conducted by the forestry department rangers in 2005. The local authority's regulation in the villages in Karakelang Island, an island in Talaud Islands group, bordering Indonesia and Philippines, prohibits the poaching of red-and-blue Lory. Thus helps reduce the trade. OFFSHORE TRANSACTIONS  (left, Eos squamata. Photo courtesy of pbase.com) Most of the Indonesian parrots come from Halmahera Island, North of Maluku. 40% of them are smuggled to the Philippines from the port in Pelita Village, Galela District in northern Halmahera. An illegal wildlife dealer named Mei Lumombo operates from there. He smuggles the birds to Balut Island or to General Santos, in the Philippines, using a private boat. The sea journey alone to smuggle parrots from Halmahera, Indonesia to General Santos, in the Philippines takes 9 hours. The journey from the forest to villages and to the port also takes a long time. Most boats carrying the smuggled Indonesian parrots do not dock at the General Santos port to unload. The transactions are done offshore or in the sea, where the Philippines dealers collect the parrots from the Indonesian ships. Upon arrival at General Santos, the birds are sent to Cartimar market, in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The parrot's death rate is as high as 40 % by the time they arrive at the sales points. For every 1000 parrots caught from the wild, 400 birds died in vain, during the poaching, transportation and trade, due to poor conditions and cruel handling. LACK OF LAW ENFORCEMENT The parrot smuggling to the Philippines breaks the CITES (Convention of International on Trade in Endangered Species) agreements, ratified by Indonesia in 1978. Most parrots are listed in Appendix II.  (left, Lorius garrulus. Photo courtesy of dkimages.com) Parrots in CITES Appendix II are prohibited from international commercial trade unless they are captive bred or permitted by the exporting country. In Indonesia the bird trade is controlled by the catch quota.Parrots in the trade are not captive bred. From the interviews with some animal traders in Cartimar market in Manila, the Philippines, ProFauna uncovered that some of the birds smuggled from Indonesia were intended for export to other countries and to be labelled as captive-bred. It is therefore necessary for the Philippines authority to control and check the parrot breeding centre and the source of parrots for export. The illegal trade of protected parrots violates the Indonesian legislation of the 1990 (a wildlife law concerning Natural Resources and the Ecosystems Conservations). Accordingly, the perpetrators are liable to a maximum five-year prison term and a maximum 100 million Rupiah fine. Unfortunately, the Indonesian governments has not enforced the law because many protected parrot are still being smuggled abroad and sold openly in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. At least once in every two weeks there is a freight vessel that dock at Surabaya sea port, transporting illegal parrots. There are about 30 birds of various species being smuggled to Surabaya per shipment. From the data collected by ProFauna about animal markets in Java and Bali, the domestic trade in parrots is still at a high level. The most wanted species is the black-capped Lory (Lorius lory), the second is the sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) and the third is the Eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus). Tri Prayudhi, ProFauna's Campaign Officer stated, " The Navy of Indonesian Armed Force (TNI) and the Indonesian Marine Police must improve the patrol of marine boundaries between Indonesia and the Philippines seas and the route used for wildlife smuggling from Indonesia to Philippines". ProFauna strongly recommends that both Indonesian and the Philippines governments implement and enforce their wildlife laws. In addition to the necessity of law enforcement to stop the illegal parrot trade, ProFauna urges the Indonesian government to raise the status of white Cockatoo (Cacatua alba), endemic species of Northern Maluku as Indonesian protected species. EDITOR'S NOTES: ProFauna launches PIRATED PARROTS report on the 22nd May 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The report is complemented with a 14-minute film (VCD/DVD) about the Indonesian parrots being smuggled to the Philippines and to the Indonesian domestic trade level. For further information, please contact Butet A. Sitohang, International Communication Officer, mobile: +6281333899741 or email: international@profauna.org ProFauna Indonesia ( www.profauna.org) is a wildlife protection organization in Indonesia, established in 1994. ProFauna becomes the largest wildlife protection organization in Indonesia with 500,000 member and supporters. In 2002, ProFauna launched a report called Flying Without Wings about the illegal parrot trade in Papua and North Maluku, Indonesia
 | Category: | Movies | | Genre: | Documentary |
It took me a week and a few days to finish all 10 episodes and I certainly learned a lot especially about endangered and extinct birds. Most species that were featured are from New Zealand, Galapagos and other Pacific islands and South America. Unfortunately, none from the Philippines. Nonetheless, it earns my 5 star rating. For more information, visit the following sites: http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_of_Birdshttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175394/PS Edu... I'm sorry. The discs were for sale for 60 a piece. 
| | sa wakas natuloy din!
Corregidor Day tour via Sun Cruises
February 10, 2008
7:00 AM - 4:00 PM
with Jerric, Kaye, Ryai and Mikes.
Php 1880 per person inclusive of buffet lunch and tour package of the island
additional Php150 for the light and sound show inside the Malinta Tunnel
For reservations, call Sun Cruises 632) 831-8140 | (632) 834-6857-58 or visit their website at http://www.corregidorphilippines.com/
I higly recommend you to book in advance kasi we attempted to go with out reservations and we ended up rescheduling it the following week because it was fully book and this is their peak season.
I attemempted to do some bird watching on my own. I saw a White-Collared Kingfisher, a Black-naped Oriole and I think I saw a Brown dove, some fantails and some sort of either an osprey or hawk gliding over. Actually even at the Manila bay, there were a number of egrets and some other fish eating birds. |
| | January 14, 2008
Lecture/presentation by Fergus Crystal
ROX, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig
8:00 pm
I received an invitation from Mr. Micahel Lu the other day about the event. I was kinda hesitant at first but managed to fix my schedule to attend it at ROX last Monday night. There was food (thank God, I haven't eaten dinner when I arrived) and good bunch of bird enthusiasts/watchers/club members. I got to meet Mr Lu and Ms. Alice in person too.
I was silent the whole time, as in. Whenever the speaker would ask the crowd, do you know what species this is (then pointing to the presentaion), everyone would answer except for me. kakahiya tuloy. hahahaha Ms. Alice said it was OK, they all started like that. She, and another member, sorry can't remember her name, were encouraging me to become a member. I nicely turned it down because I don't want to commit myself to something I can not support 100%. Just like in college, I joined numerous clubs but ended being active with only 3. hihihihihi.
Fergus lectured on how locals of Dalton Pass in Nueva Viscaya and Ecija hunt birds and why we need to be socially responsible enough to protect rare bird species like the Luzon bleeding heart and Spotted Button Quail. He also shared how to document sightings and what to do with your observations after.
If ever you get the chance to observe a not so common bird, write down the following (yes... WRITE IT DOWN):
- date
- place of sighting
- weather condition
- behaviour pattern
- feather color or markings (possibly with illustration)
What to do with it? Answer: share the information with other birdwatchers to ID the species. Or send it to any of the email addresses indicated in birdwatch.ph
The talk lasted about 2 horus. To be honest, it was an eye opener and a my 2 hours were well spent. |
With the motto, If it flies .. it dies ! Some members of the Philippine National Team proudly show off how they hunted Philippine Mallards/Philippine Ducks using choppers and Bantay Dagat speedboats. Photo section have since been closed down. See enclosed photo (shotgun1.jpg, shotgun5.jpg, shotgun9.jpg, tetlara2.jpg) If these people are your friends, please educate them ! News featured on GMA News tonight (January 11), video can be accessed on, Jessica Soho will feature a more in-depth documentary featuring different hunting groups tom (January 12, Saturday) on GMA-7, 8 pm. Please sign anti-hunting petition site, http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/revolting-local-bird-massacre-website
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my turn to blog:
Actually, I got to read Mr. Lu's email at 8:39PM tonight and it says that a longer report will be shown at Jessica Soho's show at 8PM. I dashed to our dining area to catch the show, or at least what's left of it. Luckily, the show started late and it was the 1st featured segment in today's episode.
The report showed/narrated an email from Tet Lara claiming that they didn't kill the birds, they found them already dead. Sorry but I'm skeptical about that:
Point number 1: Though there weren't any visible blood, why would anyone pick up carcasses along the way and tie them neatly one after another? Don't forget to mention they were all in complete gear and looked very delighted about their "newly found treasure".
Point number 2: As responsible athletes engaged in real firearms and of hunting real animals, do they ought to know what are endangered and what are not?
Point number 3: I visited their site after watching the show... the about link says only "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah". I think they were able to take down their motto just in the nick of time. But hey ho, look at their banner picture. I'll let you decide what it looks like or what it suggests:
 Looks like snipes and ducks to me... Probably its best we stick to flying clays and skeets for this sport. The bird in question is known as the Philippine Duck ( Anas luzonica). It is classified as vulnerable according to IUCN (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Duck). Below is an excerpt from Fisher and Hick's Birds of the Philippines, 2006: Philippine Duck Anas luzonica 51cm This is the only endemic duck in the Philippines. .. and there are 11 known endemic species by Birdlife International (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemic_birds_of_the_Philippines) but 194 by wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_the_Philippines). Whatever the numbers are, its a national heritage. I'm not talking mushy stuff here... for the sake of our future generations, we need to care more for the environment especially animals. We don't want our children to ask us what does this specie look like. I know the feeling because until now, I still bug my mother what a Tikling (Philippine/Luzon Rail) looks like. If you're curious what's my score, still searching.Please pass this message on. I highly encourage you to login in the petition site mentioned in the email trail. Personally, don't they know hard it is to get to Montalban to get a good glimpse of rare species of birds plus Olango Island in Cebu, effort ang pagpunta ha. Lalo na sa Candaba that I'm now really looking forward to visit because of this brutal display of genocide. I support the campaign against bird hunting. as Mr. Lu puts it (from UNICEF) don't catch, just watch.
> Dear Friends > > We have been in touch with Senator Miguel Zubiri regarding the illegal > hunting issue. > > Attached is a press release to be publsihed in the newspapers on Sunday, > December 23, 2007. > > Anyone who has not looked at the petition site, please check out : > http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/revolting-local-bird-massacre-website> > We need all the support we can get to reach the target 10,000 signatures. > Please send to all your friends and contacts. It may be the best > Christmas > gift you can do for our country. > > > Michael Lu
 Piding is very well known in Calayan Island, north of the Philippines. Its a flightless bird belonging to the Rallidae family (rail, moorhen and coots). Gallirallus calayanensis (featured picture). I've developed a some kind of interest with avifauna just this week. Actually, I started checking out dog pictures and ended up reading mostly bird breeds from wiki. I even called my mom to ask for the English term of Tikling, a local bird, where the international favorite dance from the country ~ Tinikling, was based on. Eto mas malupet... with confidence, she said Philippine Rail. Tumblingan na ito! Mother.... may wiki ka ba dyan sa utaksis mo? I thought. Do you know that there are extinct birds in the country? Sulu Bleeding-heart, Gallicolumba menagei (Tawitawi, Philippines, late 1990s?) Negros Fruit-dove, Ptilinopus arcanus (Negros, Philippines, late 20th century?) Tawitawi Small Buttonquail, Turnix sylvatica suluensis (Tawitawi, Philippines, mid-20th century) Luzon Sarus Crane, Grus antigone luzonica (Luzon, Philippines, late 1960s) Catanduanes Bleeding-heart, Gallicolumba luzonica rubiventris (Catanduanes, Philippines, late 20th century?) Basilan Bleeding-heart, Gallicolumba crinigera bartletti (Basilan, Philippines, mid-20th century?) Siquijor Colasisi, Loriculus philippensis siquijorensis (Siquijor, Philippines, 1990s) Sulu Reddish Scops Owl, Otus rufescens burbidgei (Sulu, Philippines, mid-20th century) Samar Bay Owl, Phodilus badius riverae (Samar, Philippines, mid-20th century) Luzon Whitehead's Swiftlet, Collocalia whiteheadi whiteheadi (Luzon, Philippines, 20th century?) Ticao Tarictic Hornbill, Penelopides panini ticaensis (Ticao, Philippines, 1970s) Negros Celestial Monarch, Hypothymis coelestis rabori (Negros and possibly Sibuyan, Philippines, late 20th century?) Cebu Bar-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Coracina striata cebuensis (Cebu, Philippines, early 20th century) Cebu Blackish Cuckoo-shrike, Coracina coerulescens altera (Cebu, Philippines, early 20th century?) Marinduque Blackish Cuckoo-shrike, Coracina coerulescens deschauenseei (Marinduque, Philippines, late 20th century?) Cebu Dark-throated Oriole, Oriolus xanthonotus assimilis (Cebu, Philippines, early 20th century) Cebu Streak-breasted Bulbul, Ixos siquijorensis monticola (Cebu, Philippines, early 20th century) On the lighter scale, there are newly discovered (or documented) birds in the country too! 2001 - Bukidnon Woodcock, Scolopax bukidnonensis2004 - Calayan Rail, Gallirallus calayanensisThere are 612 of known bird species in the country in which 194 are endemic and 67 are endangered. A good example of an endangered (critical level) bird specie is the Philippine Eagle ( Pithecophaga jefferyi). Tsk tsk tsk. I sa pang ta-tumbling tayo na info ay ito. According to wiki, most of the Pinoys misidentified what maya specie was our former national bird. We all thought it was the brown common maya or known as the Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus but actually it was the Black-headed Munia, Lonchura atricapilla, another subspecies of the TricolouredMunia Wala lang.. just want to share my recent online readables. References used: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_species_new_to_science_described_in_the_2000shttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinct_birdshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critically_endangered_specieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_sparrowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricoloured_Muniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-headed_Muniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cari%C3%B1osa
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