Cotabato Basin — Liguasan Marsh Birdwatching

Liguasan Marsh, also spelled Ligawasan, is the largest intact wetland in the Philippines, sprawling across roughly 2,200 square kilometers of south-central Mindanao through Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Sultan Kudarat. This full-day birdwatching trip takes you by boat into a vast mosaic of open water, reed beds, and swamp forest that BirdLife International recognizes as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area.

The marsh shelters at least 92 recorded bird species alongside dozens of fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Among them are specialties found in the Philippines only here, including a Mindanao endemic subspecies of the little grebe and the striking comb-crested jacana that walks across floating vegetation on improbably long toes. The wider ecosystem even supports threatened flagship species such as the Philippine eagle and the critically endangered Philippine crocodile.

Gliding through the channels with a local boatman and guide, you will scan for herons, egrets, kingfishers, and rails while learning how indigenous Teduray and Lambangian communities live with and depend on the marsh. It is a quiet, immersive day for birders, photographers, and anyone drawn to one of Southeast Asia's great freshwater wildernesses.