Part of our weeklong Zamboanga City tour includes a visit to the neighboring province of Zamboanga Sibugay to join the first ever World Migratory Bird Day in the Philippines. The celebration is set at the town of Siay where the Siay-Kabasalan Wetlands is located, one of the major flyways for migratory birds in the region.

CELEBRATING THE FIRST WORLD MIGRATORY BIRD DAY IN SIAY

Siay is about four hours away from Zamboanga City and we witnessed how they celebrated the World Migratory Bird Day through art and photo exhibitions, dance competitions, bird costume contest, and even a bird mascot showdown. The festival, being a first, isn’t really as grand as say the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival and lasted only from October 12 to 13. One of the things I really liked about it though was the group of Subanen elders who played their gongs, dancing along the beat with their traditional clothes on. Legit.

►CHECK OUT: ZAMBOANGA TRAVEL GUIDE

Hefting a ton worth of camera equipment and a week’s worth of clothes while traveling is a big pain in the back. The Cebu to Iligan ferry is still hours away and to while away the time while in Cebu, I decided to visit the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary off the eastern coast of Lapu-Lapu City. Without a choice, I hauled my gigantic backpack along for the ride.

►BOOK TRANSPORTATION FROM CEBU TO ILIGAN

Getting to Olango Island is fairly easy, but having a mammoth bag demanded quite a bit out of me. Coming from the Mactan Shrine, I boarded a jeep (₱8.00) that brought me to Movenpick Resort where the outrigger boats that transfer passengers to Olango Island (₱15.00) is located.

►CHECK FOR AFFORDABLE RESORTS IN CEBU

There are the exotically named Great Cormorants, Pied Bushchats, Brahminy Kites and White Browed Crakes; and then there are the less extravagantly named Egrets, Wandering Whistling Ducks, Grey Herons and Common Sandpipers.

But names are just names, these fantastic birds all flock the same pool in Ilocos Norte; a huge pool that is the Paoay Lake. 470 hectares of water playground to be exact, the Paoay Lake is landlocked body of water that has been declared as a National Park in 1969. The lake is one of the northernmost in the country, making it a feeding point for birds going south.
The Lakbay Norte team arrived at the bird watching platform overlooking the lake at nine in the morning. There were hardly any clouds above and the hut was a welcome respite for the searing heat. We were greeted by Dr. Petrus “Pete” Calope of the Ilocos Norte Bird Watchers for our bird-watching activity.
Armed with a telescope, he guided our eyes towards some little specks of dots on the far distance; Philippine Ducks he says. We looked in, and there they were indeed. He pointed towards another patch on the sparkling lake; Egrets he says. I zoomed in with my telephoto; and there it was, gliding smoothly above the waters of Paoay Lake.
The day however was too late for more birds. We came in too late; our feathered friends according to our esteemed guide show up very early in the morning, disappear in the middle of the day and reappears only at sundown.

A board posted on the deck with exotic bird names showed us just how many species of birds we missed.
With the sun high up, we decided to change location for better luck. A few minutes of driving and we were back down the lake; this time at the Paoay Lake National Park Protected Landscape area.
The place is filled with eons old trees; great hiding place for the birds it seems as we spotted zero avis.

Farther on, the team settled on another viewing platform at the banks of the lake. A few Egrets were making their rounds across the vast lake, but that was about it; we were really too late for the great show.
But birds or no birds, I still enjoyed the visit to Paoay Lake. Local folks setting their beautiful fishing traps and carabaos dipping undisturbed, chewing their neverending chews were enough a spectacle for a city guy like me who’s only too familiar with the polluted esteros of the metro.

    Paoay Lake
    Barangay Suba, Paoay
    Ilocos Norte
    GPS Coordinates: 18.121096,120.537701 | Click to view location on Google Maps

Our guide said that the best time to go bird watching along Candaba’s wetlands is during the birds’ feeding time. This is usually the time they take flight and scrounge along the bushy wetlands for food. The first one occurs in the early morning hours of the day, and the second one, during the late afternoons. 

Luck, it seemed, was still not on our side as it was almost nine in the morning when we treaded down the bird-watching trail. There were hardly any visible birds along the area as most were already hiding down the bushes. What we saw were the few that peeked through Candaba’s thick growth.

Admitting total defeat in seeing Candaba’s migratory birds, we finally decided to just hike back to town and maybe do a river tour instead.

As the grand sunrise we witnessed at the ricefields slowly dissipated into the early morning, a tricycle stopped in front of us and the woman driving it asked us if we were interested in doing a bird tour. Well of course we were, this was what we came here for. It turned out she’s one of Candaba’s Bird Sanctuary guide. A light at the end of the tunnel, finally!