To birdwatchers, seeing a new species is a life-altering experience—like falling in love, perhaps, or witnessing a miracle.

“Life became different when I saw my spark bird,” says Alice Villa-Real, a member of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, whom a select group of journalists had accompanied to the Candaba marsh in Pampanga, the refuge of many migratory birds from Europe during the winter. Organized by the outdoor products distributor Recreational Outdoor Exchange, the trip included first-time birdwatchers, the youngest of whom was two years old.

Villa-Real’s “spark bird”—in birdwatching lingo, it refers to one that sparks an interest in the hobby—is the white-collared kingfinger.

“I will always remember that this particular bird that got me into birdwatching,” she says, speaking of the experience with nostalgia.

The birdwatching experience—seeing a bird in its normal habitat, and not in a zoo or a cage—is always “a new thing,” like seeing a species for the first time, says artist Rich Pijuan.

“I like the sound of birds and the colors—they bring out the artist in you,” says Pijuan, who does mostly glass painting. Birds, naturally, are always a subject in her work. She counts the Philippine eagle, the Philippine duck (which Pijuan has seen only in Candaba), the bee-eater, and the barn swallow as her favorites.

“There’s a spiritual aspect to birdwatching,” she says. “No artist can duplicate the colors of birds—the plumage of the Philippine duck, especially—and that’s when you see how great our God is.”

Anna Gonzales, an architect by profession, likens the experience of seeing birds to the female thrill of buying shoes. At the Candaba marsh, where more than 60 migratory and endemic bird species can be sighted, you can “get lucky,” and see rare birds (or “life birds”—the kind you see for the first time). Coming from as far as Siberia, migratory birds fly toward warmer climates starting August. They fatten up in preparation for the mad dash for home, which occurs around March.

Birdwatching in the city
One need not go far or out of town to see birds because they’re everywhere.

“You can even do it in your own backyard, and you’ll be surprised at what you’ll see,” says Villa-Real, who recounts hearing the call of a bird and following it to the back of her house. There she discovered a forest bird, right in the middle of the city.

First-time birdwatchers based in Manila should best go to American War Cemetery in Taguig, where the pathways are paved and birds are easily sighted. Pijuan mentions sightings of the ringneck parakeets at the cemetery, where they breed during the rainy season. This type of bird is exceptionally striking, as it has a ring pattern around its neck, which is more dominant in the male.

One of Pijuan’s more memorable sighting of the ringneck parakeet is that of the male bird feeding a female and a fledgling, a lesson one she easily relates to life. “You see the parallelism of a father feeding the wife and kids,” she says.

One in-city birdwatching destination is the UP campus in Diliman, Quezon City, where the endemic hanging parrot, orioles, and kingfisher are spotted.

Binoculars, sunblock, insect repellant, and a hat are some of the essentials that a birdwatcher is never without (see 10 Tips for First-time Birdwatchers), but other than tools and physical protection, one must come armed with an openness for something new and be able to surrender to one’s senses. You never know what you’ll see. Conversion happens at the least-expected moments.