Mixed Flocks and Last-Minute Hornbills

I literally could not see anything! It was 4AM and we were on the Marilaque Highway, navigating through dark roads and fog, meeting an occasional horse or cow in the middle of the road. Thank goodness for Spotify and birding friends who shared the same taste in music (more or less hehe, my age got in the way), I was not too stressed with the lack of visibility while Djop drove us safely to the meeting point. Signal disappeared completely and Spotify conked out just as the Cranberries were building up to the chorus of Zombie, but by then the sky was lightening up a bit. Whew!

This was a Club Trip of members of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) and I haven't joined one in years (except Guided Trips, of course!) 

We caught up with the first car of birders by the highway and I finally completely relaxed as I took in the cool air, surrounded by trees and the beginnings of the dawn chorus. The air was still damp with fog and a very light drizzle so birds were scarce when we started scanning the trees, save for the swifts darting through the sky and some early Blue-headed Fantails. 

As the day started heating up, more birds appeared and we were treated to a mixed flock of Flowerpeckers, Elegant Tits, Yellowish White-Eyes, and Philippine Bulbuls. As the weather cleared, we were greeted by Philippine Fairy Bluebird, Guaiabero, Yellow-bellied Whistler, and Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker.

Birding in the fog

After a while, we decided to move to a different spot and try for Rufous Hornbills, which was a most-wanted bird for many of us. We parked alongside the road and were greeted by a friendly old lady manning the sari-sari store, telling us the Kalaws were in the trees just before we arrived. In classic birding fashion, the birds disappeared before any of us could find them and did not show in the area for the rest of the morning. Entertained myself with bugs and butterflies in the area instead 🦋

Luzon Grass Dart

We moved to the small trail and were rewarded by a very active mixed flock! Male and female Scarlet Minivets, lots of Sulphur-billed Nuthatch, more Blue-headed Fantails and Elegant Tits, and even a pair of Yellow-wattled Bulbuls gave the group good views! I also got an unexpected lifer: a female Short-crested Monarch! Ok, maybe half a lifer since I did not see the male 😅

Got my unexpected lifer on this trail!

The Rufous Hornbills called us back to the roadside again but still did not show. By this time, more and more motorcycle riders were also making their way up and down the highway. The group decided to have an early lunch since most of the group needed to head back to the city before lunch. 

Thank you, Karen, for organizing this club trip!

After the mandatory group photo, our group – Djop, Denise, Joshua, Noel, and I said our goodbyes to the rest of the group and decided to head to Palo Alto for a quick side trip since everyone in our car did not need to be back early. 

A quick stop to view the sunbirds at Sidlakan gave us good views of Flaming Sunbirds – male, female, and immature. Suddenly hungry, we decided to have a quick lunch before reaching Palo Alto and Denise treated us to celebratory pizza for her whopping 19 lifers that morning!

Male Flaming Sunbird resting from
actively feeding on the red flowers

The early afternoon heat yielded not too many birds in Palo Alto but we still racked up around 18 birds in our list that afternoon including White-throated Kingfisher, Whiskered Treeswift, Pied Bushchat, Barred Rail, Paddyfield Pipit, Pacific and Striated Swallows, and a Lesser Coucal.

Male Pied Bushchat

Pacific Swallows and a Striated Swallow

While waiting for birds, I was also able to photograph some beautiful butterflies also which I have not done in a while. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many of them flitting around! Was able to ID most of them thanks to the my copy of A Naturalist's Guide to the Butterflies of the Philippines! Yay for field guides!

Brown Pansy

Common Mapwing

Dark-branded Bushbrown

Malayan Cruiser

Riding on Denise’s high and coffee-boost (she added more lifers to her 19!), we celebrated with semi-cold drinks from our cooler while we packed up our gear. Just as we were winding down - all optics already secure in our bags - Luzon Hornbills called loudly from the roadside! We initially did not try to find them, but when they called LOUDLY again – that got us brisk walking back down the road!

Spotting the pair of Luzon Hornbills!

With drinks clasped in our hands instead of binoculars or cameras, the pair of hornbills sat for a while before flying off into the trees. What an ending to a great birding day!