Raptor watchers recently flocked to Raptor Hill in Brgy. Rio del Pilar, Glan, Sarangani to watch these birds passing by southern Mindanao.
Every fourth quarter of the year, raptors from Taiwan and Japan fly long distances and cross oceans to find suitable feeding environments in the tropics. As these birds head to Indonesia, they pass by southern Mindanao to rest and feed before continuing their flight.
Raptors arrive in Sarangani twice a year, September to October and March to April, for their return flight. The birds are characterized by sharp vision that allows them to detect prey during flight, and often feed on rats and insects, thus serving as a natural pest control in the area.
Raptor Hill, the monitoring post of researchers from the Sarangani Provincial Government’s Environmental Conservation and Protection Center, has been identified as among the major flyways of migratory birds as observed in their flight patterns for the past four years. The ongoing monitoring and study aims to generate scientific data that will help authorities understand raptor biology and migration behaviors, and help identify critical sites for conservation.
On the third week of observation, the team has already accounted 101,882 raptors sightings composed mostly of Chinese sparrowhawk, grey-faced buzzard, peregrine falcon, and western osprey species.
The birds look for thermal air currents which can be found in Mt. Latian Complex, a Philippine Biodiversity Conservation priority area identified by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
A study titled “Project Southern Crossing 2014: First Observations of Autumn Raptor Migration at Sarangani, Mindanao, Philippines” described the archipelago as an “important link in the East Asia–Australasian Flyway (BirdLife International 2015), a migration route involving long sea crossings.”
The monitoring season includes a five-year reforestation initiative at the roosting sites in Mt. Taltak, in partnership with Raptorwatch Network Philippines and the Japanese Society for the Preservation of Birds.
The recently held Raptor Festival emphasized the importance of maintaining the environmental health of the area to keep the raptors from coming.
Sarangani governor Steve Chiongbian Solon said the provincial government is studying the requirements to improve Raptor Hill as a tourism site in Glan, a popular beach, culinary, and heritage destination.