Two weeks before May 10, World Migratory Bird Day, I designed these gifs using beautiful photos by David Quimpo. David is one of the Wildlife Researchers at the Haribon Foundation.
The campaign highlighted several migratory bird species, such as this Bar-tailed Godwit photographed by David near the northern-most tip of the Philippines. It is has been observed to travel more than 11,000 kilometers or more than 6,500 miles non-stop. Many of them stop by the Philippines when traveling from their breeding grounds in Alaska to New Zealand.
We covered birds flying through the East Asian Australasian Flyway, one of 9 flyways in the world where millions of migratory birds travel year after year to escape harsh winters and for other reasons yet to be further studied by ornithologists or bird researchers.
Unfortunately, these "feathered tourists" are slowly losing their wintering grounds, or areas in which these birds fly to to escape winter in the north. Human tourists flock to the Philippines for its beaches, while birds trying to do the same in more urbanized areas like Manila Bay, receive far less of a welcome. Reclamation projects continue; resorts, hotels, casinos, and mining projects among others not only threaten migratory bird habitats - they threaten ecosystems that humans depend on as well.
Learn more about the Philippines' feathered tourists here:
