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Post by alainpascua on Oct 17, 2010 9:25:43 GMT
When fellow WBCP members and birders Alex Tiongco and Mark Wallbank described what Candaba Swamp looks like today, they both said the word "overgrown." At first, I did not give a fuss of what the word connotes, until yesterday when we saw a new Candaba Swamp when we visited Mayor Jerry Pelayo's wildlife reserve. Fellow photographers Rey Sta. Ana, Ralf Nabong, Bob and Cynthia Kaufman, Olan Balbido, Mark Itol and I went there yesterday. The first thing we noticed is the concrete road from Bahay Pare towards pinak, the local dialect for the swamp. The concrete road has extended to the corner where the another trail road meets the highway. The trail road leads directly to the back of the Mayor's pond. Here's how the big ponds now look like. Lots of herons can be found inside the bushes - Black-crowned, Grey, Purple, etc. There are very few patches of clear areas where the water and lotus flowers can be seen. All the ponds have been dominated by overgrown bushes. So we wonder where the Philippine ducks and other migratory ducks would later on congregate. What surprised us is the good number of Black Bitterns in the area, when previously these birds are rarities. Another surprise were the flocks of doves, mostly Red Turtle-Doves, that congregate in trees and on the grounds. There were lots of waders around, and egrets too. There were snipes and white-shouldered starlings, aside from the regulars. Here's a flock of black-winged stilts flying from afar.
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Post by ka rene bajit on Oct 17, 2010 10:37:37 GMT
with overgrown vegetation, the next thing to see are snakes. chasing and feasting at the chicks and eggs. i wonder if that condition is allowed by the mayor, or simply, he has not recovered from the past election's expenses.
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Post by des on Oct 17, 2010 11:42:09 GMT
These conditions will favour some species that otherwise do less well under the usual conditions. Their numbers may bounce back. Fluctuating conditions are necessary for balance in some ecosystems. Please look carefully at the right legs of any White-shouldered Starlings. 283 have been colour ringed in Hong Kong this year: 'If you are lucky enough to encounter a colour-ringed individual, please report it to me directly or post the observation to the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society website (see post athttp://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/viewthread.php?tid=1334&extra=page%3D1) If possible, I would like details of the exact location (GPS location if you have it), date, ring combination, age/sex, number of birds, behaviour and any other information you may have.'
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