Bongsanglay Natural Park (also spelled ''Bongsalay'' and ''Bujong Sanglay'') is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

of mangrove forests and swamps on

Ticao Island Ticao Island is an island with a total land area of . It is one of the three major islands of Masbate province in the Philippines. It is separated from the Bicol Peninsula by the Ticao Pass. The other two major islands are Masbate Island () ...

in the

Bicol Region The Bicol Region, designated as Region V, is an administrative region of the Philippines. It comprises six Provinces of the Philippines, provinces, four on the Bicol Peninsula (the luzon#Southeastern Luzon, southeastern end of Luzon): Albay, Ca ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is located in the municipality of Batuan in the island province of

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño language, Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; ), is an island Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provi ...

covering an area of . The protected area was established on 29 December 1981 when the area "from Panciscan Point in Bitos Bay up to Bano Sanlay" in Batuan was declared a Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve under Proclamation No. 2152 signed by President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

. In 2000, when President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

signed Proclamation No. 319, Bongsanglay was reclassified as a natural park pursuant to the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act.

Description

Bongsanglay Natural Park is the only remaining

primary growth Primary growth in plants is growth that takes place from the tips of roots or shoots. It leads to lengthening of roots and stems and sets the stage for organ formation. It is distinguished from secondary growth that leads to widening. Plant growth ...

mangrove forest in the Bicol Region as all the other regional mangroves have been replanted. It is located in the

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

of Royroy near the southern tip of Ticao Island by the Biton Bay facing the

Ticao Pass Ticao Pass is the strait that separates Ticao Island from the Bicol Peninsula in the Philippines. It connects the Burias Pass in the north with the Samar Sea in the south. Along with the Burias Pass, the waters of the Ticao Pass are proposed t ...

and

Samar Sea The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Bicol Region of Luzon and the Eastern Visayas. It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west, and Luzon to the nor ...

marine corridor. A small fishing community can be found not far from the mangroves. There is also a 1,000-meter canopy walk that traverses the park for patrolling and for

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

purposes.

Wildlife

The park hosts 36 species of mangroves dominated by the ''

Rhizophora ''Rhizophora'' is a genus of tropical mangrove trees, sometimes collectively called true mangroves. The most notable species is the red mangrove ('' Rhizophora mangle'') but some other species and a few natural hybrids are known. ''Rhizophora'' ...

spp.'' and which also include ''

Avicennia ''Avicennia'' is a genus of flowering plants currently placed in the bear's breeches family, Acanthaceae. It contains mangrove trees, which occur in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas and are characterized by its "pencil roots", which ar ...

'' species of which the oldest is more than 125 years old. It also supports 68 avifauna species, including mangrove heron,

Pacific reef heron The Pacific reef heron (''Egretta sacra''), also known as the eastern reef heron or eastern reef egret, is a species of heron found throughout southern Asia and Oceania. It occurs in two colour morphs with either slaty grey or pure white plumag ...

little egret The little egret (''Egretta garzetta'') is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on ...

wandering whistling duck The wandering whistling duck (''Dendrocygna arcuata'') is a species of whistling duck. They inhabit tropical and subtropical Australia, the Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands. Taxonomy There are three subs ...

, white-collared kingfisher,

Pacific swallow The Pacific swallow (''Hirundo javanica'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It breeds in tropical southern Asia and the islands of the south Pacific. It is resident apart from some local seasonal movements. This bird ...

common emerald dove The emerald dove or common emerald dove (''Chalcophaps indica''), also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and S ...

, zebra dove, amethyst brown dove,

common cuckoo The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the Geococcyx, roadrunners, the ani (bird), anis and the coucals. This species is a widesp ...

river kingfisher The river kingfishers or pygmy kingfishers, subfamily Alcedininae, are one of the three subfamilies of kingfishers. The river kingfishers are widespread through Africa and east and south Asia as far as Australia, with one species, the common kin ...

pied triller The pied triller (''Lalage nigra'') is a species of bird in the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae. It is found in Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques ...

grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail (disambiguation), yellow wagtail but has the yello ...

grey-tailed tattler The grey-tailed tattler (''Tringa brevipes'', formerly ''Heteroscelus brevipes''Banks, Richard C.; Cicero, Carla; Dunn, Jon L.; Kratter, Andrew W.; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Remsen, J. V. Jr.; Rising, James D. & Stotz, Douglas F. (2006):Forty-seventh ...

and the endemic

Philippine duck The Philippine duck (''Anas luzonica'') is a large dabbling duck of the genus ''Anas''. Its native name is ''papan'' or ''patong gubat'' which translates to "forest duck" in Filipinos. It is the only endemic duck in the Philippines but has been r ...

. In addition, 3 species of amphibians and 11 species of reptiles have also been observed in the park.

References

{{Protected areas in the Bicol Region Mangrove ecoregions Natural parks of the Philippines Geography of Masbate Protected areas established in 1981 1981 establishments in the Philippines

Description

Wildlife

See also

References