Luzon watershed offers home to Philippine eagle

Philippine Eagle. EDDIE JUNTILLA/PHILIPPINE EAGLE

SAN MANUEL, Pangasinan—Hopes among conservationists are soaring that with the recent discovery of 11 raptors or birds of prey in the San Roque Dam watershed, the critically endangered Philippine eagle can also survive in the area.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) found the 11 raptors when it surveyed the area, but the Philippine eagle was not among the species, according to Tom Valdez, vice president for corporate social responsibility of the San Roque Power Corp. (SRPC).

Sighted were the Philippine hawk eagle, osprey, brahminy kite, crested serpent eagle, white-bellied sea eagle, rufous-bellied eagle, black-shouldered kite, oriental honey buzzard, barred honey buzzard, Philippine falconet and falcon.

If these species can survive in the San Roque (watershed), it could be “an indication that the (Philippine) eagle can also be transferred here,” said Valdez.

“To further validate (this possibility), researchers are now assessing the watershed area,” he said, adding that if food for the eagle were found, a pair of these birds could be transferred here soon.

According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources website, the Philippine eagle feeds on flying lemurs, squirrels, snakes, monitor lizards, bats and owls.

The assessment of food availability will be completed by the end of July, Valdez said.

The San Roque watershed covers at least 1,000 hectares of forest in the Cordillera mountains in the provinces of Benguet and Pangasinan.

The Cordillera was previously thought to be an unsuitable habitat for the Philippine eagle because of its elevation and vegetation. But Valdez said the raptors and other birds of prey seen and documented in the area in the course of the PEF study suggested a considerable population of eagles.

New habitat, new hope

Last week, PEF researchers announced the discovery of an eagle’s nest in Calanasan, Apayao, the first to be found in the region.

The sighting indicated more than the regular estimate of 400 adult eagles surviving in the wild today, according to a statement by Jayson Ibañez, PEF director for research and conservation.

Valdez said SRPC president Ryukichi Kawaguchi was impressed by the results of the foundation’s study, and remained optimistic about the future of research on, and conservation of, the Philippine eagle in Luzon.

The SRPC, he said, invested in the study to explore the possibility of reintroducing the eagle to the Cordillera and Caraballo mountains, including the San Roque watershed.

“Let us wait for the eagles to be transferred here. These will be our icons in enhancing biodiversity and protecting the watershed areas,” Valdez said.