The two broods – one concentrated in US Midwestern states and the other in the South and Midwest, with a small area of overlap in Illinois – emerge together only once every 221 years.

Here is an explanation of what is expected to occur during this “dual emergence.”

What is a cicada?

Cicadas are relatively large insects – 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) long – possessing sturdy bodies, bulging compound eyes and membranous wings. There are many different kinds of cicadas.

Using needle-like mouthparts, cicadas feed on plant juices, called xylem, drawn from the roots of deciduous trees and shrubs. They spend much of their life cycle – years on end – underground as nymphs feeding on roots and drinking xylem.

After they emerge, adult males “sing” to attract females using special organs called tymbals on the first segment of the abdomen. The song pitch, tone, frequency and volume are specific to individual species. Cicadas live as adults for just a few weeks, then die after reproducing. Numerous birds and mammals eat cicadas.

How do periodical and annual cicadas differ?

With annual cicadas, some individuals emerge during any given year. They spend one to nine years underground as nymphs, varying by species, and do not have a synchronized emergence. Instead, they emerge on a staggered basis.

Periodical cicadas have more specific and longer lengths of time spent underground as nymphs – generally 13 years or 17 years – and a synchronized emergence. That means that all members of a particular brood emerge the same year, from late April into June, depending on their location. All of the periodical cicadas sharing the same life cycle that emerge together in a given year are called a brood, although any one species may be part of different broods.

There are more than 3,000 species of cicadas worldwide, but only nine are periodical, and seven of those – of the genus Magicicada – are found in North America. In India, a periodical species of the genus Chremistica emerges every four years, while in Fiji, a periodical species of the genus Raiataena emerges every eight years.

What 2 broods are involved in this year’s dual emergence?

Brood XIII, on a 17-year cycle, is restricted mostly to northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin and a few counties in extreme northwestern Indiana, according to entomologist Floyd Shockley of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington. Brood XIII includes three Magicicada species.

Brood XIX, on a 13-year cycle, is widely distributed from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia – a total of 15 states, according to Shockley. Brood XIX includes four Magicicada species.

These two broods together span parts of 17 states but overlap only in a small area in central Illinois. They are close enough potentially to have some interbreeding between broods.

When will this dual emergence occur?

Periodical cicadas are expected to begin emerging in the southern parts of their geographical distribution in mid-April. The emergence continues northward into June. Given that most broods produce localized population numbers exceeding 1.5 million cicadas per acre (0.4 hectare) in densely populated areas of their distribution, there easily will be more than a trillion cicadas during this emergence, according to Shockley.

When was the last such ‘dual emergence’?

This will mark the first time that a 13-year brood emerges in the same year as a 17-year brood since 2015. The last time that adjacent 13-and 17-year broods emerged in the same year was 1998, according to University of Connecticut evolutionary biologist John Cooley. Brood XIX, one of the two popping out this year, emerged in 1998 at the same time as Brood IV, which spans Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

The next time two 13-and 17-year broods will emerge the same year will not be until 2037 and the next time adjacent 13-and 17-year broods emerge together will not be until 2076, Cooley said.

What do cicadas do when they emerge?

The cicadas begin emerging, mainly at night, once the soil warms to about 64 degrees Fahrenheit (17.8 degrees C), according to George Washington University entomologist John Lill. These nymphs crawl up any hard surfaces – tree trunks, fences, vegetation – and molt into adult winged cicadas.

After a few days, adults fly into the tree canopy, where males form loud “choruses,” calling to females by vibrating their tymbals. Males have rather hollow abdomens, serving as echo chambers to amplify their calls. Cicadas are among the loudest insects. Females that are attracted to a particular male’s call respond with wing flicks, which also make a sound. Pairs then mate.

Once mated, female cicadas seek pencil-sized branches of trees and shrubs in sunny locations to lay their eggs into slits they cut in branches, according to Lill. These eggs develop for about six to seven weeks, after which hatched nymphs drop to the ground and burrow to begin the next generation of periodical cicadas.

When will this bug-tastic event occur next?

These two broods last emerged in the same year in 1803. The next time is set for 2245. – Rappler.com

Puerto Princesa City, through its City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO) established an arboretum, a botanical collection of trees within the city’s nature park near the New City Hall which will house both endemic and native trees. The establishment of this arboretum started during a yearly event that nurtures Balayong trees within the city’s Balayong People’s Park back in July 2023.

Carlo Gomez, City Environment and Natural Resources Officer, said the arboretum will serve as a center for research and a bioreserve that will potentially attract visitors, students, and researchers. 

Gomez emphasized that their office focused on planting endemic, native, or fruit-bearing trees because it supports biodiversity and wildlife. 

These include the Inyam tree, the fruit of which is a favorite food of birds. Narra, the Philippines’ national tree, also attracts plenty of insects for pollination due to its fragrant flowers and leaves. Banaba and Bani trees too, with their flowers and canopies attracted pollinators like bees.

The Kamuning tree is also found in the arboretum. Kamuning is known scientifically as Murraya paniculata and is considered a medicinal plant used for gas pains, sprain, bone pain, and snake bites. In Malaysia, its leaves are widely used as food flavor additives for cuisine, specifically in preparing meat, fish, and soup and flavor curries. 

Endemic trees are those only found in Palawan, including the endemic ironwood species known as Palawan Mangkono (Xanthostemon speciosus). 

Other trees that Puerto Princesa City ENRO is prioritizing were native trees known in their local names as Bakawan Gubat, Agoho, Alalod, Balayong, Balite, Batino, Bignay, Bayok, Bogo, Burawis, Bunog, Dao, Ipil, Iniol, Gatasan, Duguan, Kalantas, Kasoy, Lapnisan, Langka, Lanite, Lumaraw  Malabagtik, Malakatmon, Malabakawan, Mulawin, Pangi, Pasi, Putian, Red Nato, Repetek, Sahing, Siar, Talisay, Talisay gubat, Taluto, Ururingin, Tanabag, White Nato, among others, said Forester Sheryl Ampas-Paed.

Senior Environmental Management Specialist (SEMS) Forester Zorina C. Arellano, who heads City ENRO’s Forest Management Division said that native trees are linked to the well-being of insects, birds, and wildlife species that naturally occur in an area, thus it is important to consider native trees compared to exotic and introduced trees. 

She explained that native trees, especially fruiting trees support wildlife and biodiversity like mammals, avian species, bees, and others that form part of the biodiversity. Native trees should be planted and not an invasive introduced species, which might limit biodiversity. Invasive species will dominate an area and cause other trees to vanish.

“Native trees are their habitats, and these birds and wildlife are dependent on them,” she said. 

Protecting the birds, too

Environmental Management Specialist Myla Adriano said that in order to intensify public awareness campaigns they conducted puppet shows in schools and the barangays as part of raising student’s awareness of the importance of birds and wildlife.

She emphasized the need to protect wildlife habitats as they are the animals’ sources of food, For instance, the endemic Palawan hornbill (Anthracoceros marchei) is a large forest bird that is only found in Palawan. Also endemic in Palawan is the iconic Palawan Peacock Pheasant, locally known as the tandikan. 

She explained that birds also take seeds and disperse them through their droppings, therefore bringing plants back to ecosystems that have been destroyed.

Gerald Opiala, a government employee and a landscape designer explained that in landscaping it is important to incorporate water which is vital to birds and wildlife’s existence. 

Landscape with a bird bath or any water features supports wildlife, especially birds and other avian species affected by dry weather and scarcity of water. 

“Meron bird bath kasi ang mga ibon ay nag-su-suffer during drought kaya may mitigation measures tayo. Yun ang support natin sa wildlife natin lalo na sa mga ibon. Ito yung obligation po natin sa nature kasi itong bird bath ay iniinuman din ng mga birds kasi nahihirapan yan sila kung may drought lalo na dito sa urban areas,” he explained. (There’s a bird bath because birds suffer during drought and these are some mitigation measures. This is our support to our wildlife and birds. This is our obligation to nature because birds drink water in our bird baths, especially during droughts in urban areas)

Birds and avian species play an important role in our ecosystem, emphasized Gomez who is also a professional birder and bird photographer, being an official of the Wild Bird Photographers of the Philippines (WBPP).  

He explained that they are indicators of a healthy environment.

“Ang mga ibon ay nagbibigay ng important barometer na healthy pa ang ating environment (Birds give an important barometer of whether the environment is healthy or not),” City ENRO Gomez said. – Rappler.com

Gerardo C. Reyes Jr. is a community journalist at Palawan Daily News and is an Aries Rufo journalism fellow of Rappler for 2023-2024.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), the agency tasked with monitoring the reef’s health, confirmed that “a widespread, often called mass, coral bleaching event is unfolding” across the reef.

“While the area’s aerial surveys are showing that the coral bleaching is extensive in the shallow water areas, we will need in-water surveys to confirm the severity of the coral bleaching and also what the depth range is,” Roger Beeden, Chief Scientist at GBRMPA, said in a video message.

Beeden said the bleaching follows on from similar reports on reefs around the world due to elevated sea surface temperatures primarily driven by climate change but amplified by the impacts from the El Nino phenomenon, which usually results in warmer ocean waters. (READ: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef off UNESCO danger list, still under ‘serious threat’)

The news comes after the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earlier this week said the world was on the verge of a fourth mass coral bleaching event which could see wide swathes of tropical reefs die, including parts of the Great Barrier Reef.

The World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia said the fifth mass bleaching event in eight years showed climate change was putting “tremendous pressure” on the reef.

“WWF is very concerned that this bleaching event is unfolding in an area where corals have not been previously exposed to these extreme temperatures. Unless we see a significant drop off in temperatures in the next few weeks, the risk of significant coral mortality is high,” Richard Leck, WWF-Australia’s Head of Oceans, said in a statement.

Bleaching causes corals to expel the colorful algae living in their tissues and turn white. Coral can survive a bleaching event but it can stunt growth and affect reproduction.

Australia has been lobbying for years to keep the reef – which contributes about A$6 billion ($4 billion) to the economy and supports 64,000 jobs – off UNESCO’s endangered list as it could lead to losing the heritage status, taking some shine off its attraction for tourists. – Rappler.com

$1 = 1.5103 Australian dollars

Researchers from the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI) and the Manila Observatory, along with those from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States, and Switzerland, assessed the 5-day maximum rainfall during December to February.

On February 6, a landslide occurred in barangay Masara in the gold mining town of Maco, Davao de Oro, killing at least 98 people and devastating homes of residents. Before the landslide happened, rainfall persisted from January 28 to February 2.

“We find that in today’s climate, a heavy rainfall spell like this is expected with a 10% chance in any given year,” the study read.

Because of climate change, a warmer air can hold more moisture that gets released as rainfall.

“This result is in line with what’s expected from basic climate science. With increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere is becoming warmer and able to accumulate more water,” said Sjoukje Philip, researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.

It is also important to note that the Philippines is now experiencing strong El Niño, which should mean drier conditions. “Had it not been an El Niño year, we would have expected the rainfall to be more extreme,” scientists said in the study.

Increased risk to disasters

Aside from the 50% increase in rainfall, disasters in Mindanao are exacerbated by loss of nature, poverty, and reliance on climate sensitive livelihoods such as logging and mining, scientists said.

“Increasing people’s exposure and vulnerability to natural hazards such as flooding and landslides, while limiting coping capacity, these factors are likely to have worsened the impacts of the heavy rainfall.”

Maco had been tagged as highly susceptible to landslides according to government’s geohazard maps. Relocation has not yet happened since a similar disaster happened 16 years ago, even when the area was declared a no-build zone. A community remained and a gold mine continued to operate.

Likha Minimo, a geologist who studied the interplay between development and disasters in Mindanao, said that many areas in Mindanao are high-risk and people are usually left with no choice but to stay where they are despite knowing their vulnerability.

“They have nowhere to go within the local government, or no one can offer them a suitable relocation area,” Minimo said in Filipino during a Rappler Talk interview. “When you say suitable, there’s no risk, [and] they also have a livelihood.”

Minimo is the director for knowledge sharing at UPRI.

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The geologist said that logging and mining are usually conducted in high-risk locations: in steep slopes, volcanic areas where metals are concentrated, or near fault lines.

The study noted that deforestation from logging, mining, and conversion of agricultural lands in the Davao and Caraga regions have intensified since the 1950s. “Deforestation negatively impacts natural water cycles and soil stability, which can increase surface runoff, ultimately aggravating the risk of landslides and floods.”

In interactions with locals and officials in Mindanao for a separate study they conducted in 2018, Minimo said they found there was a lack of prioritizing land-use planning. This is a glaring problem, as the land-use plan is the basis for the zoning ordinance, which will then guide people where they can or cannot build homes.

Another problem is that some zoning ordinances are not updated to adhere to guidelines for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

“Not all zoning ordinances, if they exist, are responsive to multi-hazards,” said Minimo. “The plan and the legislation are probably outdated. [W]e saw that as one of the main problems in Mindanao.”

Mitigating disasters in Mindanao

The authors of the study recommended the maintenance of a working early warning system that could help leaders make sound decisions.

If only the available rain gauges and automated weather stations in the region were working, more information would have been available to decision makers to enforce preemptive evacuations,” the study said.

“It is critical that both early warning systems and assessment of landslide-prone areas are improved to avoid similar disasters in the future,” said Richard Ybañez, UPRI chief science research specialist.

Aside from the necessary technology, governments should invest in people with the technical expertise, said Minimo.

“We need to invest in people,” said Minimo. “On people who will interpret the data, on people who will reach out to the communities to explain the risks as well.” – Rappler.com

A video shared online shows the scale of these 20-foot-long (6.1-meter-long) reptiles as one of the researchers, Dutch biologist Freek Vonk, swims alongside a giant 200-kilo (441-pound) specimen.

It was thought that there was only one species of green anaconda in the wild, the Eunectes murinus, but the scientific journal Diversity this month revealed that the new “northern green anaconda” belongs to a different, new species, Eunectes akiyama.

“What we were there to do was use the anacondas as an indicator species for what kind of damage is being done by the oil spills that are plaguing the Yasuni in Ecuador, because the oil extraction is absolutely out of control,” researcher Bryan G. Fry said.

Fry – an Australian professor of biology at the University of Queensland who for almost 20 years has been investigating anaconda species found in South America – told Reuters the discovery allows them to show that the two species split from each other almost 10 million years ago.

“But the really amazing part was, despite this genetic difference, and despite their long period of divergence, the two animals are completely identical,” he said.

Although green anaconda snakes are very similar visually, there is a genetic difference of 5.5%, which surprised the scientists.

“Which is an incredible amount of genetic difference, particularly when you put it in the context that we’re only 2% different from chimpanzees,” Fry said.

Anacondas are incredibly useful sources of information for the ecological health of the area and the potential impacts on human health of oil spills in the region, Fry said.

Some of the snakes they studied in parts of Ecuador were heavily polluted by oil spills, and the anacondas and arapaima fish are accumulating a large amount of the petrochemical metals, he added.

“That means that if arapaima fish are accumulating these oil spill metals, that they need to be avoided by pregnant women, just like women avoid salmon and tuna and other parts of the world for fear of methylmercury,” he said. – Rappler.com

The spine-tailed sea creatures named for the shape of their body shells face numerous threats, including the loss of nursery beaches for baby crabs, entanglement in fishing nets and human exploitation for food.

They are known as “living fossils,” serving an important role in coastal ecology, the understanding of evolutionary science as well as being a major food source for wading birds.

Of four species worldwide, the Chinese horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus) and the mangrove horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpis rotundicauda) are found in Hong Kong coastal waters.

The Ocean Park Conservation Foundation (OPCFHK) said it had initiated the first underwater automated acoustic “telemetry system” for a pilot tracking study.

The team released an initial batch of tagged adult crabs into Tung Chung Bay, near the airport, on Wednesday and will track and investigate movement and breeding patterns.

“Our commitment is to ensure the continuous breeding and survival of local horseshoe crabs in the wild,” said Howard Chuk, foundation director of OPCFHK.

The local population of juvenile horseshoe crabs is estimated to be less than 10,000, while data on the adult population is inadequate, making it difficult to accurately estimate their numbers, OPCFHK said.

Rising water levels due to global warming could also exacerbate loss of habitat with Hong Kong’s beaches at risk of being submerged in future, said Professor Cheung Siu-gin, associate professor at the Department of Chemistry at City University, Hong Kong.

“The measurement of water temperature in this study can also indirectly monitor the situation of global warming.” – Rappler.com

La Mesa Nature Reserve is a popular training ground for trail runners and mountain bikers, owing to its wide expanse of green space and proximity to many who live in Metro Manila.

It is expected to open this March again, MWSS administrator Leonor Cleofas confirmed during a handover ceremony on Thursday, February 15.

Upon news of the closure, long-time patrons of the nature reserve had turned to social media to express their sentiment on the future of the watershed without the ABS-CBN Foundation (AFI). Cyclists, supporters started a petition calling for continuity of ecotourism under new management.

Meanwhile, park rangers who are set to receive severance pay from the ABS-CBN Foundation (AFI) can still expect employment under MWSS. Park rangers not only patrol the watershed but also serve as trail guides for visitors.

“In the interim, while the engagement of the service provider is still being processed, the rangers and the security will be absorbed by the MWSS through our concessionaires starting February 16,” said Dizon.

Retaining park rangers should help in the smooth transition of the conservation of the watershed.

“Sila po talaga ang nakakaalam ng daily needs ng ating watershed reservation at saka ng ating ecopark,” Cleofas said.

(They’re the ones who really know the daily needs of the watershed reservation and our ecopark.)

The nature reserve and ecopark are expected to open again in March. Cleofas said this will be done in phases.

Transition period

The watershed is now under the MWSS, which is set to implement a sustainability roadmap together with concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad.

The arrangement with AFI expired on December 31, 2023.

How reforestation programs will continue and the roadmap implemented under the new leadership are still under discussion. “For the transition, constant communication is still being undertaken among parties,” Dizon said.

Last December, MWSS took over as chair of the technical working group of the La Mesa Watershed Reservation Multi-Sectoral Management Council.

The council was created when former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared the watershed, covering 2,659 hectares, as a protected area.

Shadow of past MWSS housing project

While the turnover is said to be aligned with the Integrated Watershed Management Roadmap for Angat, Ipo, and La Mesa (IWMRAIL), there are concerns over the new management given the history of MWSS and the watershed.

IWMRAIL is the sustainability roadmap crafted by the MWSS and concessionaires to sustainably develop watersheds until 2047 to provide clean water for Metro Manila.

One long-standing issue in the watershed is the MWSS housing project, which necessitated intervention from the Office of the President and the Supreme Court.

The housing project for MWSS workers and employees was approved back in June 18, 1968, in compliance with the collective bargaining agreement of the MWSS with two labor unions. A total of 1,411 employees were supposed to benefit from the housing project.

It was delayed when a former acting general manager refused to sign the deed of sale to beneficiaries and when former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. wanted a Maynilad filtration plant built on the housing project land.

In 1999, the AFI began campaigning for the rehabilitation of the La Mesa watershed.

Two years later, the University of the Philippines-National Hydraulic Research Center (UP-NHRC) recommended in its study that the watershed not be used for housing projects.

The study said the reservoir water, which is consumed by Metro Manila residents, may potentially be contaminated because of construction activities. Tree cutting to make way for the housing project may also increase sedimentation and siltation in streams.

In 2006, the Senate conducted two hearings on the issue. The Senate recommended the passage of a law to declare it as a protected area.

“The inclusion of the La Mesa watershed as an initial component of NIPAS [National Integrated Protected Areas System] and its eventual declaration as a protected area through Congressional action will prevent MWSS from further alienating lands within the reservoir just to satisfy its contractual obligations,” the Senate committee report released in 2007 read.

Arroyo did so when she signed Proclamation No. 1336, series of 2007. She ordered the DENR and the MWSS to manage the watershed “in accordance with sustainable development, without impairing its usefulness as source of water for domestic use and other related purposes.”

However, the proclamation also said that the watershed is “subject to private rights.”

The housing project has not proceeded since the DENR cancelled the environmental compliance certificate of property developer Century Communities in 2016. – Rappler.com

The Manila-based Philippine Animal Welfare (PAWS) organized a “fur date” where visitors could spend time with the group’s rescued dogs and cats, most of which were abused or neglected by their former owners.

Pet lovers mingled with the rescued pets to encourage adoption instead of buying fur babies.

“With this event, they (the animals) see that not all people out there in the outside world are out to hurt them,” said Sharon Yap, a campaign officer at PAWS.

Visitors paid P750 ($13) for their date, which included snacks and treats for the animals.

Most of the shelter’s 65 dogs and 170 cats were rescued from cruelty and neglect, with criminal charges filed against offenders, according to PAWS.

“What these sheltered animals have been through is different. For me, they are more worthy to be given the opportunity to be loved by us,” said Chia Llanes, 29, who spent her “date” with a tan-coated dog. – Rappler.com

Named the National Bird Breeding Sanctuary (NBBS), this new breeding facility is situated in the 105-hectare Eden Tourism Reservation Area at the foot of Mount Apo, owned by the city government. 

It encompasses a 13.46-hectare area, with 8.16 hectares designated as a natural forest buffer and 5.3 hectares allocated for the core facility currently housing one breeding chamber and six temporary holding cages, positioned at an altitude of 1,000-1,200 meters above sea level – a habitat akin to the nesting sites of the wild Philippine eagle. 

PEF shared in a media primer that the move from the Philippine Eagle Center (PEC) in Barangay Malagos to Barangay Eden was “the only recourse against two main threats, which is the avian flu and the changing landscape around the PEC.”

“Game and poultry farms mushrooming around the PEC increases the risk of exposure to highly pathogenic diseases such as avian flu. Activities in adjacent farm lots are disruptive to our Philippine eagle pairs’ breeding activities. Without the productivity of our natural pairs in breeding, we lose the potential hatchlings that could be released into the wild,” PEF said. 

The conservation group reported that the bird flu outbreak in Magsaysay town in Davao del Sur in March 2022, which is 90 kilometers southwest of the center, posed a direct threat to all 32 eagles in the PEC.

PEF executive director Dennis Salvador said this milestone was a conclusion of years of efforts convincing the government to do something about the status of the Philippine eagle. 

“We had to accelerate this move to transfer some of the breeding birds elsewhere because, in consultation with the Davao City government, they cannot control development in Malagos, especially with the flourishing of game fowl farms and poultry farms surrounding the area, which puts the captive population of eagles at great risk. And so, the city government allowed us to move in here to build a new facility for the breeding eagle,” Salvador said. 

According to Jayson Ibañez, director for operations, the new facility will not be open to the public and is intended only for research and conservation.

“We would be piloting the use of natural rearing techniques. Meaning, it would be the breeding pair who would take care of their young. And that would ensure the imprinting of the chick to its proper species,” he said.

The original plan was to transfer eight eagles, but following a physical examination before their transportation to the new breeding facility, only seven were deemed fit for transfer.

Ibañez disclosed that most of the eagles transferred were victims of human persecution, including their most productive pair, Ariela from Wao, Lanao del Sur, and Matatag from Mount Apo.

“Ariela, the female eagle, lost two digits in an accidental trapping incident involving a nylon rope intended for catching deer and wild pigs. Matatag, the male eagle, rescued in 2011 after being accidentally trapped on Mount Apo, endured rehabilitation and release. But, a few years later, while roaming the forests of Mount Apo, he was shot so he was persecuted the second time around, which made his wings partially functional,” he said.

Other eagles included Balikatan and Bangsa Bae, currently undergoing pairing, and three birds designated for cooperative artificial insemination, namely Dakila, Lipadas, and Pin-pin.

Ibañez pointed out that this transfer was costly, with the initial phase already totaling P9 million for labor, materials, and equipment. The upcoming second phase involves constructing two more breeding chambers and at least six holding cages to accommodate eight additional birds.

He also mentioned that the center in Malagos will remain a home for retired Philippine eagles from the breeding program, and over 100 other animals, mostly endemic and injured, which are no longer releasable to their natural habitats.

“There will be available spaces for extra educational activities, aiming to transform and maximize the old facility for education, training, and tourism. The goal is to offer meaningful, enjoyable, and interactive experiential learning for the public, making them appreciate why the Philippine eagle is our national heritage,” he added

According to their latest estimates, only 392 pairs of Philippine eagles are left around the country. – Rappler.com

Ivy Marie Mangadlao is an Aries Rufo Journalism fellow.

An old woman on the other side of the lagoon was asking us. Beside her was a man who seemed to be her partner, wearing a shirt with Arizona’s birds printed on it. He was carrying a camera with a telephoto lens.

We said we were looking for the naked-faced spiderhunter (Arachnothera clarae). They immediately clambered down the empty lagoon. The old man descended first and offered his hand to the woman.

They walked toward our bird-watching group. After a while, the spiderhunter perched on one of the branches overhead. The woman saw it, then the man took a photo.

“She’s my spotter,” he said.

“And listener,” she added.

They have been watching and taking photos of birds together for the past 20 years.

Love at website

On August 28, 2003, Cynthia Mercado logged onto an online dating site and got a match who went by the name Tender Storm. She was Young One at 53, looking for someone to grow old with.

He was 5’7″, a Christian, and a widower. She sent him a note. The man thanked her for her interest. Then he asked her if she could be the Annie Reed to his Sam Baldwin.

His name was Bob. He lived in Los Angeles at the time, although he grew up in Manila, where he was already interested in birds.

Bob and Cynthia wrote to each other for eight months. A widow and widower, both knew what it felt like to take care of a loved one and lose them to a lingering illness.

By April of the following year, Cynthia flew from the Philippines to the United States for a reunion with former classmates. She made a stopover in Los Angeles to finally meet Bob.

“He was funny,” she remembered 20 years after the first time they met in person. “I went to the hotel. He was at the lobby, wearing a cardboard mask of Tom Hanks.”

“He was Sam Baldwin in Sleepless in Seattle,” Bob explained.

“Sam Baldwin,” Cynthia repeated. “He had the face of Tom Hanks on a cardboard. ‘Yun (That’s it).”

Five months later, they were reciting their vows at the Justice of the Peace.

For life

In the natural world, courtship and mating are simple matters of biology. Birds dance, strut, and raise their wings to attract potential mates. They sing and ward off rivals.

When the rhythm is right, they copulate. Some change mates when the seasons turn. Some mate for life, like penguins and mute swans.

Humans go through similar, fundamental motions, too – but with a lot more at stake. The social order has defined how love and relationships should feel, how they should play out, or how people should be involved.

Marriage, in many love stories, is often the happy ending to a fairy-tale romance. But for Bob, who is now 77, and Cynthia, 74, marriage was the beginning of the second half of their lives.

After all, it’s the second marriage for both of them. A second marriage can offer clarity in retrospect. With their kids from their first marriages all grown up, Bob and Cynthia were liberated from the usual expectations that come with getting married.

“You see, this is the second time around, so a lot of things don’t matter anymore,” Cynthia said. “As long as you vibe with each other [and] you’re on the same wavelength.”

For them, spending the rest of their lives with another person is not anymore a romantic pursuit but an uncomplicated arrangement.

“I told him that in my second marriage, I don’t want PTAs, obstetricians, or tuition fees,” Cynthia said. “With him, I didn’t want any of that. Just a good time.”

Good times

They define a good time by reading the novels of Robert Ludlum and Mary Higgins Clark, and going out on Saturdays to watch and photograph birds.

Bob keeps a bird list that boasts of about 1,300 species seen so far. He says it’s still a meager count considering there are more than 11,000 birds in the world.

After they got married, Bob wanted to try bird-watching, but he had poor eyesight and hearing. Cynthia had to go look for and listen to the birds for him.

“I take my job as helpmate seriously,” she said.

Soon, Cynthia was hooked on the hobby too. The shared interest made them fly to other countries to visit bird parks.

She was Bob’s eyes and ears, his travel planner and life companion. During the interview, Cynthia would often repeat the question to her husband. Then, Bob would answer. Most times, though, Bob would let Cynthia speak. He would nod, smile, and laugh in agreement. He knows that what she says is their story.

There were many eureka moments in seeking out both rare and common birds.

In San Gerardo de Dota in Costa Rica, they found the resplendent quetzal. It was the national bird of Guatemala. In Camarillo, California, they finally spotted the common yellowthroat after looking for it in the wrong places.

After the thrill, once the list is completed and the quota hit, they go back home. Didn’t Frank Sinatra croon that the second time around is more comfortable like a friendly home?

Twenty years have passed, and 20 more years will pass. The birds will continue to sing overhead, and the world will always welcome lovers. – Rappler.com