Philippine Eagle family sighted in Luzon
By Eva Visperas
SAN MANUEL–Sightings of a pair and an offspring of the rare Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) were recently confirmed separately by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC) during a two-week expedition that began Nov. 6 in Calanasan town in Apayao province.
The eagles were sighted on three occasions: Nov.6, 8 and 19.
Earlier this year, the DENR Regional Eagle Watch Team investigators saw and photographed a young eagle in Mount Mamukaw.
On the 19th, after scanning the thick forests of Barangay Eva for days, PEF investigators Tatiana Abaño and Adriano Oxales spotted a lone Philippine Eagle perched on the crown of the tallest tree atop Mount Mamukaw.
Soon after, the adult eagle jumped and glided out of view only to reappear above Mamukaw 20 minutes later.
A few minutes later, it was back on the same perch, but this time harassed by a flock of Rufous Hornbills which were obviously bothered by the presence of the giant bird-of-prey.
The hornbills, a food item for the eagles, loudly wailed at the eagle for several minutes but eventually gave up and left one by one.
As the eagle stood its ground, Abaño and Oxales managed to fix a digital camera on their field telescope and took the first photos of a wild adult eagle in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
The eagle flew away after the last hornbill took off.
SHOW ON AIR
But the eagle had more to show.
At half past noon, an eagle re-emerged from the canopy and flew in a spiral motion to great heights. To the team’s delight, another eagle joined in mid-air, trailing the first for a couple of minutes.
The team witnessed a twin soaring display that eagle mates often do on a clear sunny day.
Experts from the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City say such flight rituals strengthen pair bonding during nesting or when jointly raising a young.
The next day, loud begging calls of a young eagle were heard which further confirmed that the pair is rearing an eaglet.
MATING TIME
An eagle pair mates for life and the female lays only a single egg every other year.
Based on studies and observation of the eagle pair, the birds could possibly breed again by the last quarter of next year or the first quarter of 2013.
The Philippine Eagle, the country’s national bird, is labelled an endangered specie due to hunting and deforestation.
The newly discovered eagles and their forest habitat at Calanasan are inside an Indigenous Protected Area known as “Lapat”, an ancient and sacred forest of the Isnag tribe.
The San Roque Power Corporation funds the PEF eagle research at Apayao and across the Cordilleras and Caraballo Mountains.
The company also supports the potential translocation of a pair of Philippine Eagles at the San Roque Watershed.
The research works are carried out through a MOA and partnership with the DENR.
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