The Philippines has more than 600 species of birds and about 33% of these are only seen in the country. The Department of Tourism in the Philippines has lately added to their tourism packages the “bird-watching” tours. Secretary Durano tells reporters that there are a lot of tourists who travel the world to look for birds. Since the country has plenty to share to tourists and it has the most endemic bird species per square kilometer in the world, beating Brazil and Indonesia, what they need to do is to properly package these products.

There are many places around the Philippines where you could enjoy bird watching; Candaba, Pampanga, Subic, Palawan, Olango Island in Cebu and Agusan Marsh in Mindanao, where thousands of migratory birds from mainland Asia and Japan come to rest to escape the winter.

One might ask if birding is expensive compared to other tourism activities. According to birdwatch.ph, all you need to have is a hat, a notebook, a field guide, binoculars and a good place to watch the birds. Birds are beautiful and interesting creatures, but some people in the country hunt them for food or for ornaments, bird watching lets us learn more about them, admire its beauty and preserve their species.

It has been reported by the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines that bird watching is one of the fastest growing recreational activities in the world, so now is the time to let Filipinos be aware of these new tourism activity.

“The Philippine Bird Festival aims to get people excited about nature and conservation through recreational bird watching and bird photography,” said Michael Lu, President of Wild Bird Club of the Philippines.