THE BIRDS in Candaba, Pampanga

Have you seen so many birds in your life? Well, I did and I can't believe it myself. It was an invasion. More like that Alfred Hitchcock horror movie THE BIRDS. It was both shocking ang exciting at the same time. We went at the bird sanctuary at Candaba, Pampanga, a two-hour drive from Manila. Honestly, I really don't know what to expect. I just need to go to the sanctuary to have those birds photographed, not be me, but by a professional photographer. Since I would be the one in-charge with coordination I have to find out if the migratory birds are still there. I googled Candaba and that search led me to this website http://www.geocities.com/mun_of_candaba/, which I think was very helpful. I was looking for a phone number so I can contact someone from the municipality and inquire. I saw two cellphone numbers. I texted both. Then my cellphone rang, I answered it and the conversation went something like this...



Me: Hello po.
Person on the Phone (POP): Hi. Yes, the migratory birds are still there. Just go there. Do you know how to go there?
Me: Sorry po. I don't.
POP: Go to NLEX. Take Sta Rita exit. Take Baliuag and pass under Baliuag flyover going to Candaba. When you reach Bahay Pare Barangay Hall, turn right. It's around 4 kilometers going to the swamp. It's better if you take a 4x4.
Me: Salamat po. May I know who's this?
POP: Ah, si Mayor.
Me: (silence)
Me: uhmm, thank you po Mayor. We'll go there Friday.

After the call, I googled the mayor of Candaba, Pampanga - Mayor Jerry Pelayo. I think that was nice of him to put his cellphone number in the website. With me as a classic example, I knew that there is indeed a possibility that he would be pestered with a lot of inquiries, but just the same he put it there. One side story, I was told that some of the migratory birds stayed in the swamp for good because the mayor banned all hunting activities.

So we reached the sanctuary, there's this big house in the middle of the swamp. We were informed that it is owned by the mayor. My favorite is a pathway lined with trees. You need to pass through this so that you can see more birds. There were egrets, herons and other birds I'm not familiar with.

The people in the house were very accomodating. They even cooked lunch for us - rice, fried tilapya, barbecued porkchops, chopseuy, manggang hilaw, kamatis, bagoong and itlog na pula. These are the best picnic food for me. Yum. I can still smell and taste that lunch. We waited for the birds to give us the shot that we need.

Mang Jimmy, the mayor's brother-in-law, was very nice to us. He even brought us to the middle of the swamp with their pump boat.

The place was like a painting to me. Perfect color combinations. So peaceful and calm. Yet it was so real. It was like a prayer rally - the wind is murmuring its prayers, branches are up in praise, birds are doing their charismatic dance. It was simply majestic.