Back to Birding (Sort Of)

 It.Has.Been.A.While.

The last time I wrote for my blog was over a year ago! But I'm brushing off the virtual cobwebs on this blog and reviving it to document my return to the world of birding - sort of. And nothing so dramatic.

Mask On! Birding in the new normal.

Recently, I've been volunteering again for the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) in guiding first time birdwatchers. I have to say that the few times I've gone out was truly refreshing! I surely felt rusty but happy to know that it all kind of comes back as the day goes on. I know I still have to get back into the groove though. 

Case in point: before starting the trip, I put on my binoculars over my head, hook my camera over one shoulder, and sling a reusable bag with my field guide and other stuff over the other shoulder only to end up just using my bins and the field guide occasionally. 

Me giving an intro to birding with all my "gear" on me

Another example: using the scope quick! I really have to relearn the skill of using the spotting scope, more urgently when there is a group kids eagerly awaiting to peek through to see a bird!!! Talk about pressure! Thankfully, birds have been cooperative during the times I've volunteered, staying put long enough to be put on the scope. 

I'm slowly reacquainting myself with neighborhood birding sites. These were the areas I birded in when I was a new birder years ago, practicing using my bins and ID skills. It's nice to know that birds still thrive in these places, even though the landscapes have changed over the years.

Birding in Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife

Strange, but I have developed this urge to rush through things and get things done as quick as possible. I have to remind myself to SLOW DOWN, to breathe easy (through my mask), and to allow myself to relax and enjoy the few hours birding. 

It has also become my "alone time" or my "me time" even if I am with a group of people. I dunno, it's hard to explain. But it's the time I get to do my own thing on my own, and for this I am truly grateful. It has done wonders for my mental health.

I have yet to really get back into birding and using my camera. It's debut was thwarted by the pandemic and we have yet to warm up to each other. But for now, I am really thankful for the small pockets of birding time I get and meeting new people (and children!) eager to see more birds. Sort of like a slow stretch after a long time of stagnation.

Hopefully, I will have more to write about soon. For now, I will ease back into the "game" slowly but surely. And no, my boy Elias won't be joining me yet... he'll drive away all the birds!!!

PPP: My First Lifer for 2019!

Update: After posting this, I learned that the Palawan Peacock Pheasant has not been seen in its usual site for the past four days! The bird is quite old and some fear the worst... quite bittersweet this lifer... 😱

It was one of those lucky trips when everything fell into place. I was in Puerto Princesa in Palawan for work and didn't plan on doing any birding. But somehow, I convinced myself to bring my binoculars and camera for the trip. Ok, fine. Djop convinced me to bring my binoculars and camera for the trip... you know, "just in case."

That "just in case" was any possible free time I could get to sneak a couple of hours birding in a nearby site. I couldn't have hoped for a better opportunity that opened for me and fellow birder, Sir Olan Balbido, that trip! From zero birding plans to an impromptu trip to the Underground River in Sabang to try for the Palawan Peacock Pheasant!

So, off we were at 5AM together with friends from work Nereo, Rodger, Fer, Marjon, and Jordge. Sir Fer was going to join me and Sir Olan find the Pheasant while the others were going to go see the Underground River.

We waited at the Sabang Wharf and soon boarded our banca to take us to the site. The 30-minute boat ride reminded me of how beautiful Palawan is, with its pristine beaches, amazing rock formations, and turquoise waters.

After a few group photos (of course!), our group split in two: one to the Underground River and the other to find the Pheasant. I followed Sir Olan and Sir Fer to the Ranger Station, carefully stepping around some Monitor Lizards sunning themselves on the sand.

I was gingerly stepping around a particularly large lizard when Sir Olan turned back to me and whispered excitedly that the bird was there!!! I rounded a large tree and there it was! My first lifer for 2019: the Palawan Peacock Pheasant.

Palawan Peacock Pheasant

I quickly raised my binoculars to my eyes and enjoyed the up close and personal view of this handsome bird. I took in its feather details and its markings from its head to its tail, which has these  two rows of beautiful ovals with an amazing blue gradient which reminded me of turquoise!

We have an amazing Creator!💗<3 td="">

I passed on my binoculars to Sir Fer and starting taking more photos. The rangers feed the Pheasant with rice grains making it a regular sight in the area. One of the rangers even showed me a cellphone photo of the bird with its tail spread out like a turkey! I silently wished we would see that!

The Pheasant moved away from the sandy area and towards a more forested part. It even chased Sir Olan away as he moved further from it to keep it within frame! Exciting stuff!

Sir Fer and I left Sir Olan for a bit to go look at the lagoon entrance of the Underground River. We were gifted with two soaring White-bellied Sea Eagles while we dipped our feet in the cool and super clear water!

The last time I was here was in the early 2000s. Happy to see the place well-preserved and pristine!

As we reunited with the rest of our group, we headed out to where we left Sir Olan so the others can get a look at the Pheasant. We found him seated on the sand just beside the generator and the bird was perched on a log and was calling! I slowly crept beside Sir Olan and took photos and some videos.

The Palawan Peacock Pheasant then hopped off its log and foraged deeper into the forest. We left satisfied with the amazing views and observations we made. Of course we took the obligatory group photo at the beach before boarding our banca and heading on to our next stop: the nearby Mangrove Paddleboat Tour.

Happy faces all!

After a short walk, a self-pulled raft ride, and a quick water break, we found ourselves in a small paddle boat gliding on the water and surrounded by beautiful mangroves. I got my wish for a mangrove snake too! I'll let the photos speak for themselves, but they don't come close to the actual experience. If you haven't tried this tour, you should definitely put it in your Palawan itinerary!

The entrance to the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour

Mangrove Cat Snake yay!

My view during the paddle boat tour

This river is protected and is an important breeding ground for many species of fish

Being surrounded by the healthy mangrove forest was amazing! I couldn't help but feel bad and scared for Manila Bay...

There were century-old mangrove trees along the river bank

On our way back, our boatman even sang us a song composed by the group of boat men manning the tour. While taking in my surroundings accompanied by the musical stirrings of our boatman, small schools of fish swam peacefully alongside our small boat. It was all so clean, so natural, and so serene. See, Philippines? It can be done!

We said our goodbyes to our friendly boat man and made our way to lunch. It was a quick but very refreshing trip to Sabang! Palawan is such a beautiful place and I hope its natural beauty and resources are preserved and protected. After all, it is called the Philippines' Last Frontier. See you again soon, Palawan!

Sasmuan's Surprise Spoonbills

I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in two counts for 2019's Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) in sites I've never been to before. As always, the experience of visiting a new place in the Philippines is unforgettable and will forever be shared with the people alongside me.

The first count I volunteered for gave a surprise sighting that even made it to the front page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer! I've joined in a number of bird counts and surveys of Manila Bay with Arne Jensen, the Records Committee Chair of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines and an associate expert of Wetlands International but I've never been to the count site I was assigned to last January 12. Djop and I were assigned to join the team of Mads and Lu-Ann Bajarias to count in Sasmuan, Pampanga which included Bangkung Malapad.

Boardwalk entrance of SBMCHEA

Our jump-off point was the fish market in Orani, Bataan so our team of four was already on the road before 3:00AM. We arrived in Orani and was met by Freddy, our boatman for the trip. We wanted to be at Bangkung Malapad by sunrise so we boarded our katig-less banca in the dark and headed off to Manila Bay.

As our surroundings became lighter, we were joined by groups of birds skimming the surface of the water around us. It was a such beautiful dawn!

We were soon approaching the entrance to Bangkung Malapad. Bangkung Malapad, also called the Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (SBMCHEA) is a small islet in Manila Bay and boasts of mangrove trees and mudflats where migratory birds can be found.

View from our banca as we approached the entrance to SBMCHEA

Walking through the mangroves to the view deck.

As we got to the viewdeck, we all began setting up: scopes, cameras, food... when I saw three heavy-ish birds flying our direction. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed their distinct heavy bills so when I raised my binoculars to confirm what I thought they were, I couldn't contain my excitement and exclaimed loudly to the group: "Spoonbills!!!" In my excitement at this completely unexpected sighting, I struggled finding the "Black-faced" portion of their name, spinning in place as I forced my brain to cooperate. "Black-faced Spoonbills!" I finally managed to say. I looked at my friends and was even more delighted to know that all of them saw the spoonbills and that they were lifers for Djop and Mads (yay!), and a country lifer for Lu-Ann (yay!)!

The trio of Black-faced Spoonbills flying against the pinkish sky

The spoonbills flew around the view deck a number of times, giving us great views and chances for photographs in our slowly brightening surroundings. We thought (and hoped and prayed) that they would land in the mudflats right in front of us, but sadly they did not and instead flew away behind the mangroves and out of sight.

That's the view deck as photographed from the mudflats

Djop scoping out birds out on the mudflats from the view deck

The spoonbills did not make any more appearances the rest of the day but we did get to see quite a big number of other birds: Black-headed Gulls, Great, Intermediate and Little Egrets, Asian Golden Plovers, Gull-billed Terns, Whiskered Terns of course, and some Caspian Terns. We were soon joined by counters from the DENR, DOT, and WBPP and we scanned and counted the further sides of the mudflats which are covered by the mangroves if you stand on the view deck.

That's Mads and Lu-Ann counting by the mangroves

That's me and Djop counting from the mudflats
Thank you, Lu-Ann for the photo! =)

After we counted the area of birds, we said our goodbyes to the rest of the team, boarded our banca and headed off to our other count spots in the area. Sadly, there weren't much to see in the stops we made save for feeding flocks of Whiskered Terns and egrets. We did pass by a small group of Black-winged Stilts but not much other waders.

We made our way back to Orani, stopping by a large expanse of exposed mudflats which held quite a big number of plovers. The mud was too wet and mushy for us to stand on for better views, so we took note of the site (no longer in Bulacan) and went back to the fish port. We collated our data over lunch and drove back to the city with a total of more than 9,000 birds for our count. The number was quite low but not bad, plus we had a mega record sighting of the Black-faced Spoonbills too! Black-faced Spoonbills are globally endangered and our sighting last January was the first in more than 100 years since it was last recorded in Manila Bay.

With more and more birders looking at the birds in different areas in Manila Bay, hopefully the efforts to protect and conserve it will pay off. And hopefully, with sightings such as the Black-faced Spoonbills among other birds, there is more than enough justification for the protection of the habitat, not only for the birds and other wildlife, but also for humans too.

Happy AWC volunteers! =)

Here's a link to the article Lu-Ann wrote for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and republished in WBCP's eBON.

A Unicorn on All Saints' Day

Just days after I blogged about how my unicorn bird, the male Narcissus Flycatcher, has eluded me after another attempt at finding it... I saw it.

I was working on my blog post about my recent trips up to Bangkong Kahoy when I decided to give in to the inner twitcher in me and take my chances to see the Narcissus Flycatcher. It was seen and photographed by friends in the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran the previous day (and they had AWESOME photos!) I took an early morning train to Baclaran and after a short walk was inside the church compound looking for the coffee shop and the patch of trees where the Narcissus was said to frequent.

The Redemptorist Church, which is also the National Shrine of
Our Mother of Perpetual Help,
and more commonly called the Baclaran Church

I immediately knew I was in the right area when I saw the huge cameras and people in varying shades of green and brown looking up at the trees. I entered the Sinirangan Coffee Shop and greeted friends, old and new. After learning the bird hasn't shown up yet, I ordered my coffee (and an ensaimada to be claimed when I saw the bird.) I sat down beside Sir Chin (who was very relaxed, having photographed the bird already the previous afternoon hehe) and chatted a bit. I brought out my binoculars and scanned the movements up in the trees. I spotted a  flycatcher far up a tree and thought it was a female Narcissus Flycatcher. Sir Bert and Sir Roy decided to go in for a closer look and saw it was a Ferruginous Flycatcher! What an unexpected bird to see! But still not what I was after =P

More people arrived to try for the Narcissus and I was getting a bit anxious. Will I miss out on it again?

Waiting for the bird

And then... Sir Chin was gesturing for me to come closer and pointed to the trees in front of him. It was there. I put down my coffee cup and tiptoe-ran towards him. I pulled out my bins and voila! My unicorn!!! I took in all its details... the yellow and black, the whites, the bill, the eyes, the tail, the wings. After six long years, I was finally looking at the male Narcissus Flycatcher. I took out my camera and got some horrible back lit shots!

The bird flew around us and was very skittish because a Brown Shrike was chasing it! I really did not want to see my much-awaited lifer get torn apart by the butcher bird just minutes after seeing it! What a horrible story that would be!

  

Thankfully, the Brown Shrike let it be for a while and it stayed in the area. It flew around the courtyard and even perched low, giving us many amazing views and opportunities to photograph it. I know I could've gotten more and even better photos of the bird but I am content with my "haul" for that morning. After all, I waited six years to see this bird and it showed itself very well (plus it did not get eaten by the shrike!) Hooray!

  

It perched very low at times!

My favorite shot, as usual, gives the feeling of
looking through the leaves to see the bird =)

Thank you, Mr. Narcissus! It's been a great 6-year adventure chasing you. Now, time to find a new unicorn to chase ;)

(Oh, and yes, I did claim my celebratory ensaimada after seeing the bird.)

The Wonderful Wildlife of Langkawi

It was such a bonus that the venue of the recently concluded 5th Asian Bird Fair in Langkawi, Malaysia was such a birdy place! Not only the Oriental Village in the Geopark itself, but also our hotel!

I got my first lifer in our hotel, the Alia Residence Business Resort, just after breakfast on the first day of the bird fair. Some Common Mynas (which were indeed very common there) were feeding on the lawn beside the pool. I was able to snap a few shots before boarding the bus!

Common Myna

All the participants were shuttled to the Geopark in a bus and as soon as we disembarked, we spotted a pair of Spectacled Langurs (or Dusky Leaf Monkeys)! They were feeding nonchalantly on a tree in the parking lot, much to my delight and of the other participants as well!

Spectacled Langur
This is one monkey I can really call cute! =)

I had to tear myself away from the monkey as we all had to setup our booths! The Wild Bird Club of the Philippines' (WBCP) booth was located beside a big tree and as we were setting up, sunbirds came to forage above us! We saw Olive-backed Sunbirds and Brown-throated Sunbirds!

When the booth was all set-up, Andrew S. approached us and, since we weren't on booth duty yet, gave us directions to a place where we could go bird and try to find the Brown-winged Kingfisher. Within a few minutes, Jun, Christian, Jops and I were on a short trail just adjacent to the fair grounds. The trail had a small stream running along one side and a fenced construction site on the other side. 

Jops and Christian on the trail

Not so far in the trail, we spotted a small flock of Greater Racket-tail Drongos. These are beautiful glossy black birds with long rackets on their tails! They flew gracefully from one side of the trail to the other, their long tails flowing behind them

Greater Racket-tail Dorngo
Quite challenging to photograph it showing its rackets very clearly

The drongos were flying very close to a small group of Spectacled Langurs. We later found out that these two species really go together, warning each other of nearby threats, particularly raptors. Cool!

Suddenly, Jops announced that he had spotted the kingfisher! The four of us stood side-by-side, peering into an opening in the foliage by the banks of the stream, and looked at a big kingfisher with a yellow head and bright orange bill. There was some debate until later that day on whether the bird had blue wings or brown! But later on, as a larger group went back to the trail to find it, it was confirmed to be the Brown-winged Kingfisher.

Also seen on the trail was a Pond Heron, which would fly over the stream and perch conspicuously before flying off again.

Pond Heron

We headed back to the fair grounds and participated in the different activities going on. In the afternoon, it was Christian, Jops and my turn to man the WBCP booth. I was seated in the booth and as I was talking to Christian, who was standing, I saw a huge bird fly overhead! Oriental Pied Hornbill! This had most of us running (and leaving the booth unmanned for a few seconds!) towards the wire fence overlooking the other side of the road where a pair of hornbills decided to have their afternoon snack! How awesome was that?!

Oriental Pied Hornbill feeding on fruits

After quite a while, the hornbills eventually retreated to the denser part of the trees to rest. When the hornbill-induced excitement died down, we weren't left bird-less. A Brahminy Kite decided to soar overhead. It was like that during the bird fair in Langkawi. Sometimes, it was a White-bellied Sea Eagle flying over the booths! And true to their name, the Common Mynas were indeed a common sighting in the Geopark =)

More Common Mynas on the roof of one of the stores near the booth

On the second day of the bird fair, most WBCP members were shuttled in a van and we made a quick stopover en route to the Geopark to tick off the handsomely-colored Red-wattled Lapwings. They were just standing on a grassy field near the road!

Red-wattled Lapwing

I didn't participate in the ABF's mini-bird race as I accompanied Katherine, a new friend I met from the Malaysian Nature Society, to the trail because we both wanted to see the the Brown-winged Kingfisher. We reached the end of the trail, but didn't see the bird. We did see some Monitor Lizards and even an Oriental Whip Snake! Thank you, Katherine, for warning me about it!

Monitor Lizard

Oriental Whip Snake

The only birds we saw were the Greater Racket-tail Drongos and a huge group of Long-tailed Macaques blocking our way as we headed back out! We had to hold on to some sticks as we passed them, "just in case."

That's like 1/4 of the whole group that blocked our way!

We exited the trail and went back to our respective booths (Katherine was doing face painting!) Jops and I attended the International Ecotourism Forum and I gave a short talk as representative of the WBCP. Afterwards, we walked back to the booths and birded in the surrounding area. 

Near the creek, we saw some Spotted Doves, a Striated Heron, and another lifer: Red-eyed Bulbul! I sat on the edge of the small open area and one of the shop owners sat beside me and we started chatting about the birds she sees there. I asked about the Brown-winged Kingfisher and she told me in detail how she would observe it fishing for food and then perching on the tree beside us every afternoon. Wow! I still had a chance to see and photograph it!

We explored a little more of the area and saw a Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker and an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker on a low aratiles tree,

Docu-shot of the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

When the flowerpecker flew off, we heard the kingfisher! It was by the stream! After some searching, we spotted the handsome Brown-winged Kingfisher, perched out in the open, obliging us excited birdwatchers =)

One of the highlights of the 5th ABF!

It was such a great thing to see the kingfisher so close to the fair grounds allowing almost all the delegates to see and photograph it! I was also very happy that Katherine got to see it too after our dip earlier that day =)

After the rush of the bird fair and the birding that accompanied it, it was time to relax a bit in our hotel. The mudflats just behind the hotel had lots of Lesser Sand Plovers and Striated Herons! Among the birds were huuuge mudskippers!

Just one of the many, huge mudskippers! =)

There was also a number of noisy Black-naped Orioles and a solo White-throated Kingfisher that came in while we were having our leisurely breakfast.

White-throated Kingfisher,
quite different from what we have here in the Philippines

As another added bonus, a couple of Oriental Pied Hornbills also flew in while we were having our breakfast. We got to show them to the other guests of the hotel who were having their breakfast too =)

The hornbills didn't come out into the open for a good photo,
but they stayed for quite some time =)

Soon, it was time to leave Langkawi. It was great discovering the wildlife during the three days we spent there and we still have so much to see! It's a great reason to go back again =)

Next stop: Fraser's Hill!!!