Globally endangered Black-faced Spoonbills (Platalea minor) were spotted last January 11 during the annual Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) in Barangay Taliptip in Bulakan, Bulacan. The multi-site AWC was in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Biodiversity Management Bureau, Wetlands International Philippines, and the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP).
The 24 individuals, reported by survey-team members Janjaap Brinkman, Cristina Cinco, Jasmin Meren, and Joed Perez, were seen feeding and resting along the tidal flats and mangrove areas along the Manila Bay section of Barangay Taliptip. It is the highest number ever reported for the Black-faced Spoonbill in the Philippines. Last sighting of this species in the country was on January 12, 2019 also in the course of the AWC along Manila Bay in the coastal wetlands of Sasmuan, Pampanga.
Before last year, the Black-faced Spoonbill hasn’t been recorded in Manila Bay for over a century. More recent records come from Palawan; the Bicol River Estuary; Olango Island in Cebu; and Batanes based on WBCP records and the International Black-faced Spoonbill Working Group of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnerships.
This rare migratory bird for the Philippines originates from mainland China and North Korea. For the winter, it migrates to the southern coast of China including Hong Kong and Macau, Japan and Taiwan. International conservation societies, such as the Taiwan-based Black-faced Spoonbill Association, monitor the sightings of these birds to help guide efforts to bring up populations from the drastic drop to under 300 individuals in the ‘80s to the 2018 census count of 3,941.
Birds as Biological Indicator
The Black-faced Spoonbill is the only spoonbill categorized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as endangered. It is heavily dependent on undisturbed coastal wetlands rich in tidal flats. Its migration route along the East-Asian Australasian Flyway needs the involvement of countries, and policy agreements between government agencies and the private sector for the conservation of coastal wetland areas.
According to Arne Jensen, Wetlands International Associate Expert and WBCP records committee chair, around 200,000 waterbirds spend the winter months along Manila Bay’s coastline. For two-thirds of the population to survive, 10 areas along river deltas and mudflats have been identified as needing protection and restoration. Yet, only 1% or 200 hectares of Manila Bay is protected, and reclamation threatens to destroy critically vulnerable wetlands.
Jensen reminds that the Philippines, as a signatory to the Convention for Migratory Species and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International importance, has to take immediate actions to protect and restore remaining wetlands. This is not only for the survival of migratory species that the country agreed to protect through international agreements. This also acknowledges that birds are an indicator for good status of habitat and ecosystems, and sustainability. Coastal habitats for the migratory birds decrease flooding, absorb excess rain, filter pollution, replenish ground water, and provide livelihood. Birds ultimately point the way to what is best for people.