DAVAO CITY (PNA) – The Aboitiz Cleanergy Park located in this city was cited as an excellent site for bird-watching where its recorded bird species already nearing 100, 10 to 15 of which are endemic to the Philippines, a birdwatcher expert said.

Davao-based birdwatcher Pete Simpson said a wide variety of habitat types, combined with the area’s safe and secure environment, has made the park an excellent site for birdwatching.

Simpson, a member of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines-Davao who has studied environmental biology, considers the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park -- an eight-hectare ecological preserve located in Barangay Punta Dumalag here -- to be one of Davao del Sur’s top five bird-watching sites, which is remarkable considering its relatively urban location.

Throughout the Philippines, there are just 90 birding sites that have reached the milestone of 100 birds recorded and Aboitiz Cleanergy Park will join that group soon.

Simpson said to have 100 species in a site only a few hectares is "excellent" in an area surrounded by an urban environment.

“In terms of urban bird-watching sites, Cleanergy is, by far, the best in Davao City, and I would say it's one of the best urban bird-watching sites in the whole Philippines,” he added.

Around 20 bird species in the park are considered migratory, and a number can be found in other parts of the Philippines and throughout Southeast Asia. Some of them are vagrant birds that were only seen once at the site -- rare birds.

“It’s good for bird-watching because there is a range of habitats within a small area -- the sea, the beach, mangroves, other trees, and recently, a small grassland area. A range of habitats and each habitat has different birds specialized to live in these habitats. So, to be approaching nearly 100 bird species in such a small area and to be surrounded by an urban environment is excellent,” he added.

The park, known as an urban-based biodiversity conservation site, it is home to the critically-endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), endemic and migratory birds, and marine species.

“The existence of nearly 100 bird species at the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park is a remarkable achievement that reflects the Aboitiz Group’s strong commitment to sustainability and the preservation of an environmentally-vital site in Davao and Mindanao. We will continue to work hard to ensure that the succeeding generations will also be able to appreciate the natural environment of the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park,” said Sabin Aboitiz, Aboitiz Group president and chief executive officer.

In 2019, the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park welcomed 10,735 visitors and has so far released 4,811 pawikan hatchlings.

Since 2014, the park has been home to 40 discovered pawikan nests.