PANGASINAN—The province of Pangasinan, through the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office, joined the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 1 Office, headed by Regional Director Francisco Joseph R. Ortega, and birdwatching experts as they conducted a Birdwatching Exploration Tour in the province last August 11 to 13, 2022.
Alongside a team from the DOT-R1, representatives from the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (PTCAO), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 1, birdwatching experts Mr. Ivan Sarenas and Mr. Michael Agbayani Calaramo of Northwestern University, and chosen local tourism offices joined the 3-day activity. The team was also accompanied by Ms. Imelda Favi, tour operator and owner of local travel agency Athena Travel and Tours.
The first day of the Pangasinan leg of the DOT’s Birdwatching Exploration Tour kicked off in the town of Bani, where the Bangrin Marine Protected Area and Bani Communal Forest are located. The said sites are known hotspots for birdwatching enthusiasts who endeavor to catch even a glimpse of more than a hundred varieties of indigenous and migratory birds that pass through the surrounding bay. Before sundown, the team traveled to Alaminos City and settled in Bued Mangrove Park, witnessing various birds agilely flying through the mangroves, their calls echoing from above and beyond the treetops in the evening darkness.
The following day, the team traveled to the town of Mangatarem and positioned themselves at the Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape (MSPL) before daybreak. The hiking trails and sheer vastness of MSPL are ideal albeit challenging spots for birdwatching as visitors have to be absolutely careful in taking steps across the leave-covered grounds so as not to frighten or raise alarms for passing birds.
The third and last day of the exploration tour saw the team travel to Lingayen first, where they stayed along the Lingayen Baywalk before visiting the sand bar at Barangay Estanza. The team also made the trip to the town of Balungao where they hiked Mt. Balungao where they saw and heard an estimated 40 bird species, including a rare sighting of a violet cuckoo (Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus) and a honey buzzard raptor (Pernis ptilorhynchus).
According to the DOT-R1, the team had identified, seen and heard approximately 150 types of bird species in the aforementioned destinations.
This activity is in line with the DOT’s Tourism Product and Circuit Development Project. The Birdwatching Exploration Tour is one of many such tours that aims to assess the readiness and marketability of particular tourist destinations in given tourism circuits. Such activities also aim to help tour operators and travel agencies to develop tour packages of Pangasinan destinations that can be readily promoted to a variety of consumers.
Special Acknowledgments:
Mr. Ivan Sarenas, Mr. Michael Agbayani Calaramo, Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) – Ilocos Region, Bani Tourism Office, Alaminos City Tourism Office, Mangatarem Tourism Office, Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape, Lingayen Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office, Balungao Tourism Office, and Athena Travel, Tours and Events Inc.
/MCDG
Photos: KFC
