Olango Island : A haven for migratory birds

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Written by Jennibeth Cabrera

Saturday, 04 November 2006

Many species of shorebirds and wading birds dash away from the chilly weather in temperate regions. They get off in droves headed for the warmer; more warm tropics every year during winter and go back the same way in summer, driven by a natural instinct for staying power that has ensured the continuation of their species throughout the ages.

These migratory birds were fed by marine invertebrates and plants found along the shores, these animals are very much a vital part of our coastal ecosystem. Southward migration: Anticipating the scarcity of food and the winter cold, birds flutter south as far as Australia from late July to late November.

Olango, just four kilometers off the east coast of Mactan Island in Cebu, Philippines, is site of a 920-hectare secluded wetland called the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary. The OIWS serves as harbor to thousands of migratory birds from September to November traveling the East Asian Migratory Flyway which includes the Philippines as one of the most significant shorebird and water bird migratory flyways in the world. A total of 77 species of migratory birds use this flyway, and Olango Island supports 62% of this number. Here, they feed and inhabit, enormously at home in their own passive and secluded world in the bosom of nature.

Olango Island offers a magnificent world of birds and nature basking in the resplendently vivid sun or taking refuge in the clement shade of mangrove stands: plovers and red shanks and egrets and sandpipers are just some of the winged visitors that can be seen here, stopping over on their voyage from Siberia's unkind winter, or taking a breather before they persist their journey home. Touching encounters will also be felt with the local community, who will delight you to a captivating experience of modest of our Filipino cultural heritage.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 04 November 2006 )

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