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ILOILO City – After the sighting of a Brent Goose in Barangay Hinactacan, La Paz district on Feb. 4, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was monitoring priority wetlands in Western Visayas for the presence of migratory birds.
The DENR’s Conservation and Development Division (CDD) recorded it as the first Brent Goose (Branta bernica nigricans) to visit the Philippines.
Bird experts Philip Godfrey Jakosalem and Liza Paguntalan of the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. confirmed the visit when they went to the village for validation on Feb. 5.
Hinactacan was a priority wetland in the region. Many migratory birds have been visiting the area, but this was the first time a Brent Goose was sighted, Development Management Officer Melba Salditos said on Friday.
Rachel Casio of the CDD photographed the black goose, which was wading in a fishpond, said Salditos, who was assigned at the Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation Section. But they were unsure if it was really a Brent Goose until experts validate it.
Casio was among DENR Region 6 personnel who had undergone intensive training on waterbird identification and wetland monitoring on Jan. 4 to 7.
Salditos said the Brent Goose’s usual migratory range was from extreme northeastern Siberia to north-central Canada.
During winter, it stays down the Pacific coastline of North America from Alaska and moves south to Baja California, as well as Japan and Kamchatka, Russia, she said.
The goose breeds in the eastern part of North Asia and Alaska, but it is a rare visitor in the northern part of East Asia during non-breeding period.
It could be found in a variety of habitats, including lakes, marshes in the coastal tundra, mudflats, and coastal grasslands.
Migratory birds usually stay in an area for a maximum of two weeks, said Salditos.
The Brent Goose’s visit was a reminder to further strengthen the protection of wetlands, she stressed. (PNA)
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