By Dindo Malonzo
At around 12:30pm on December 14, 2025, myself and fellow club member Timmy Romero noticed a huge white bird flying across the sea towards us. We were on-site conducting a bi-monthly bird survey for a proposed offshore wind farm.
I immediately noticed the size and outstretched neck of the bird, probably ruling out an Egret. Hurriedly, I aimed my camera to snap photos, initially thinking the bird was a Spoonbill (either of which would have been lifers for me and a good record for the site.) Getting a good look at the bird though, my thoughts turned to Geese, to my confusion and disappointment. I was thinking that there aren’t any purely white wild Geese so this must be a wayward domestic Goose, though all the while also thinking that a domestic bird wouldn’t fly across the open sea like this. Maybe it was a leucistic Goose of some sort? A Swan never occurred to me until Timmy showed me page 37 of the Bird Guide. I guess I always just skip that part?
In disbelief, I reviewed my photos with shaking hands and confirmed the details: all white plumage, black feet and bill, with some yellow on the bill base, and flies gracefully with the neck outstretched. Timmy and I celebrated a bit, then shared our sighting with the rest of the survey team who all proceeded to go crazy.
There have been a few previous sightings of this species in the area, so it may be a rare migrant instead of a vagrant. Very few people bird there and the area is quite large, so it may be overlooked. Our sighting was the first recorded on eBird for the Philippines, as well as the first photos. A great way to close out this year’s birding! Hopefully the Swan returns and more birders get to see it.