I honestly cannot recall the last time I was at Candaba. My last blog post about it was in 2018 when I volunteered for the Asian Waterbird Census that year... then nothing. The count in 2018 was dismal, with only a handful of birds and species seen in the overgrown plants and converted marshland. Gone were the hundreds of ducks taking to the skies. Gone were the rare migrants making their appearance.
But before the end of 2024, we decided to organize a club trip for members of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines to Candaba to check out what birds can still be seen in the forever-changed landscape. My expectations were low, scared to be disappointed by the urbanization and therefore, demise of natural habitat.
We did not venture into the old birding areas inside Bahay Pare, but instead kept to the road. We were greeting with a big flock of egrets foraging in an empty rice field by the side of the road.
Hundreds of them against the backdrop of Mt. Arayat! The usual Yellow Bitterns, Brown Shrikes, White-breasted Waterhens, and White-browed Crakes were skulking in the foliage while swallows flew all around us. Beyond the tall grass, we spotted many ducks on water and we decided to investigate the area.
The rest of the group started arriving and we made our way inward through a dirt road - which was usually our exit from the Mayor's property years ago.
Ducks. Hundreds of them! What a pleasant surprise to find so many Northern Shovelers and Garganeys in a pond so close to the road!
We also saw Green-winged Teals, Northern Pintails, and a lone Philippine Duck (which was quite sad because... only 1???) Another surprise was the huge number of Eurasian Coots some distance away. It was the most number of Coots I've seen ever!
As we were looking out for more birds, our group spotted two men crouched on the grass on the other side of the pond, carrying what suspiciously looked like rifles. All binocs and scopes were directed at them and we confirmed that they were indeed hunters.
I guess we weren't very discreet in our observation of them as they became conscious and started walking away from us. We monitored them and saw them raise their rifles a number of times to aim at a group of birds but they did not fire. I sent a quick message to former Candaba Municipal Administrator Ka Leny M. and asked him to relay the photos and report of hunters to the LGU.
We called it a morning shortly after that, refusing to dampen our birding trip with the presence of the hunters. We made our bird list for the trip, took some group photos, and went our separate ways.
Birding in Candaba now lasts for just a few hours in the morning, instead of the full morning or full day activity it usually was back then. Sad to say that the glory days of Candaba as a premier birding site has now really passed, and birders now tell stories about it in the past tense.
BUT there is still hope! The Paligue Wetland Center is set to be developed in Brgy. Paligue, the groundbreaking ceremony already conducted in early 2023. With the support of the local government, barangay, and community, partnered with conservation organizations, Candaba may yet return to its former glory as a haven for birds and birders alike.
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