26 October 2005
Herons, egrets in ponds are migratory birds
PANGASINAN safe from infected migratory birds? Think again.
The province may yet be a potential place for a breakout of the deadly avian flu due to droves of migratory birds landing in middle of fishponds here in order to forage for food.
Westly Rosario, chief of the National Integrated Fisheries and Technology Development Center (NIFTDC), confirmed that droves of migratory birds such as egret and heron are foraging for food in shallow fishponds in Dagupan City and Pangasinan most often.
With their white color, these thin, long-legged and long-beaked birds, can be readily seen from afar as they feed on fish from almost drying fishponds at this time of the year.
Some of these are in fact seen in fishponds along the Lingayen-Dagupan-Binmaley road, especially in tracks of fishpond lands a few meters from the town proper of Binmaley.
In the past, people hunted these birds for food but since reports of the avian flu came out, people have been told to stay away from these birds.
Pangasinan and Dagupan City may yet be another sanctuary for migratory birds in the country because the fish being raised in fishponds serve as food for them.
The egrets and herons used to fly in flocks to the Philippines from the northern region of the world at this time of the year to escape the winter cold and temporarily migrate to tropical areas.
Officials said if only one or two of these migratory birds carry the dreaded avian flu, they could already spark a full-blown epidemic.
A report said there is also a bird sanctuary in the Hundred Islands, not only for local birds but also for migratory birds.
The province may yet be a potential place for a breakout of the deadly avian flu due to droves of migratory birds landing in middle of fishponds here in order to forage for food.
Westly Rosario, chief of the National Integrated Fisheries and Technology Development Center (NIFTDC), confirmed that droves of migratory birds such as egret and heron are foraging for food in shallow fishponds in Dagupan City and Pangasinan most often.
With their white color, these thin, long-legged and long-beaked birds, can be readily seen from afar as they feed on fish from almost drying fishponds at this time of the year.
Some of these are in fact seen in fishponds along the Lingayen-Dagupan-Binmaley road, especially in tracks of fishpond lands a few meters from the town proper of Binmaley.
In the past, people hunted these birds for food but since reports of the avian flu came out, people have been told to stay away from these birds.
Pangasinan and Dagupan City may yet be another sanctuary for migratory birds in the country because the fish being raised in fishponds serve as food for them.
The egrets and herons used to fly in flocks to the Philippines from the northern region of the world at this time of the year to escape the winter cold and temporarily migrate to tropical areas.
Officials said if only one or two of these migratory birds carry the dreaded avian flu, they could already spark a full-blown epidemic.
A report said there is also a bird sanctuary in the Hundred Islands, not only for local birds but also for migratory birds.
