Ibon-Ebon Festival In Candaba Swamp

{mogoogle}Nearly seventeen thousand birds were sighted in the twenty four hour census in Candaba, Pampanga. This number was not only a record for Candaba but for the whole Philippines. Another record not only for Candaba but for the whole Philippines was the Eurasian Spoonbill with a scientific name of Platalea Leucorodia has been seen in Candaba Swamp for the first time.

Parts of the thirty two thousand hectare Candaba swamp have become a refuge for more than eighty species of migratory birds. Possibly but not certainly the uncleared weeds and the unharvested fishes are the reasons for the records.

The president of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) expressed sorrow for the decrease in the number of ducks from two thousand in 2006 went down to five hundred in 2008.

To showcase the gift of Candaba, mayor Jerry Palayo organized the Ibon-Ebon Festival or the Birds and Eggs Festival on February 1-2 for students, and to service the local and foreign tourists, a 60-seat bus was bought by the local government of Candaba and decorated with stickers of birds on its side and back.

Bird watchers must grab this opportunity to see the flocks of bird starting October and staying until February because this is the time when the birds take a winter break and the time for breeding.

[Via Inquirer.net]