Being the Regal Bird

Essay Writing Competition 2023
Category: 8 - 11 years
- Winner -

Winning Essay "Being the Regal Bird" written by John Caleb Magnaye-Talusan.

Being the Regal Bird

If I were a Philippine Eagle, I would soar above the mountains. I would show my power to everyone beneath. I would devour the raptors and the primates that dare to challenge me. Also, my favorite food would be monkeys, hence the nickname, "the monkey-eating eagle."

If I were the Philippine Eagle, I would go hunting by jumping branch to branch, or by sitting still and camouflaging, then pouncing on prey. Those would be my means of snatching a meal. I could also go fast when I need to. My meal would be either, macaques, raptors, and bats. I would also eat domestic animals if necessary.

Being an eagle, especially a big one, means I would need a lot of space to thrive. This puts me at risk of fighting with people. Conflicts with people have become a threat to Philippine Eagles' existence. The conflicts are caused by them hunting domestic animals. People win this conflict all of the time, so Philippine Eagles are shot at the end of it.

If I were a Philippine Eagle, I would have a long life expectancy. I could live thirty to sixty years. Living a long life is a luxury for most animals. However, for birds, most of them live for years, so living a long life is bird trait.

Since only 600 Philippine Eagles survive today, being a Philippine Eagle means that you don’t see much of your own kind most of the time.

Philippine Eagles are rare, so either one is hiding in plain sight, or there is none at all. The reason why they are rare is because they don’t reproduce fast enough. They take two to five years to sexually mature and even then, they raise only one eaglet a year.

I chose to write about the Philippine Eagle so that I could do my part in raising global awareness about its declining numbers.

Imagining I was a national bird is fun, but I have a serious reason. It allowed me to see how the Philippine Eagle is declining in number because of modern industrialization.

I hope one day, people will stop destroying the environment, and do something to produce cleaner and sustainable technology, and by doing so, preserve the species of animals we have left. After all, aren’t they God’s creations too?

In the Age category 8 - 11 years, John Caleb's excellent essay was chosen as the winner.

Well done! Thank you very much for your inspiring story! You and your parents can be very proud of your outstanding achievement!

You chose the national bird of the Philippines and end your presentation of the animal facts with a strong plead to help conserve the eagles' habitat as well as our environment in general. You researched the essential key facts about this regal bird well and the composition is a pleasure to read. Congratulations!

John Caleb is homeschooled under Homelife Academy in the Philippines. His home language is Tagalog, English is his second language.