• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2001 baseline)
The islet of Ursula lies approximately 20 km off Brooke's Point in southern Palawan, about one hour by boat from Rio Tuba. The vegetation is old growth lowland forest, with moderate undergrowth, consisting mostly of tree saplings and seedlings. Fishermen regularly use the island, and there are numerous trails to wells dug in the interior and some small nipa huts. Ursula has been promoted in the past as an ecotourism destination, but it is apparently not visited by many tourists at present.

Key biodiversity
Ursula Island is notable for the large concentrations of imperial-pigeons that roost there, including substantial numbers of the threatened Grey Imperial-pigeon. However, it has been reported that the numbers of pigeons roosting there have declined substantially in recent years. Mantanani Scops-owl, a restricted-range small-island specialist, has also been recorded on the island. The shoreline is a migratory and wintering ground for shorebirds and the surrounding waters are valuable feeding grounds for seabirds, particularly terns.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ursula Island (Philippines). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ursula-island-iba-philippines on 22/12/2024.