Opinion

Farfetched? It’s true!

Take the case of Candaba. The waterbirds of Candaba have steadily decreased in number for the last ten years. But now based on the recently concluded Asian Waterbird Census 2005, the waterbirds led by the vagrants or the migratory species have made a spectacular return to the Candaba marsh.

This could not happen overnight. The migratory birds are very sensitive to environmental change.

For the last several years Jerry Pelayo, long before he became the mayor of Candaba, has started conserving more than 70 hectares of the swamp in Sitio Simang, Barangay Visal San Pablo. He no longer drained the water there for agriculture and let the fish he stocked in the area to grow wild and multiply. He allowed the endemic plants of the swamp to grow and planted trees along the dikes.

When he became mayor, Jerry immediately banned the hunting and killing of wild birds especially the migratory species. At the same time he launched a strong campaign against pollution and waste dumping in the swamp.

As if informed by a travel advisory, the birds since October of last year have started arriving in flocks. At least two rarely seen species, the Chinese Pond Heron and the Purple Gallinule are making their appearance for the first time in ten years.

A large pond in Simang became the playground of more than 3,000 wild ducks of at least 4 species, including some 600 of the now vulnerable (two stages from being endangered) Philippine Duck.

At exactly 5:30 in the afternoon the Little Egrets start to arrive by flock in Simang. Those coming from the East arrive first then followed by those from the West.

Those from the East wait for those from the West to settle on the trees lining the dikes first before they find their own roosting places there. Well organized!

The mixed flock of herons of at least 4 species bide their time in another pond taking cover among a growth of shrubs. As if by signal they fly out to some unknown destinations as soon as the Little Egrets arrive. They return before the break of dawn the following day. A delightful mystery!

In another big pond, the smaller Common Moorhens, duck-like body with chicken-like beak, lazily feed and float among the kangkong vines.

And nearby in a big area a big flock of the bigger Cattle Egrets and Great Egrets mingle with farmers plowing the field. They are feeding on the little ground insects and snails being exposed.

More spectacular is the very large flock of smaller birds, probably the very agile Whiskered Tern, fly as one in a wavy dance against the setting sun. Those who have witnessed this swear they could number as many as 60,000 or more.

Both media and the public were enthralled by the sight of thousands of birds swarming around. The public, gone tired of unending news on calamities and political bickerings, welcomed the front page color photos of the birds in several newspapers and watched with keen interest the news and feature stories on them on various TV channels.

It’s not just the birds. Now people are strongly reminded about the importance of protecting and conserving nature. Here in the Philippines the disappearance of these magnificent birds could only mean the destruction of the environment, and with that, the destruction of the very source of our needs in order to live and survive.

In Candaba, with the effort to protect the wild birds comes the effort to protect the swamp and manage both water and land well to strike a balance between the needs of the people and those of the environment.

This requires strong political will. Candaba is lucky. Its mayor has that.