Wishful Thinking and Wishes Granted

I got my excitement back for birding at the right time: very close to a national holiday. That meant I had an opportunity to go birding for at least for half a day on Philippine Independence Day (which fell on a Thursday this year)! I wanted to check out a possible birdy site in Antipolo and that's where I drove to early on June 12. I was silently hoping to see a white morph coucal, especially since our friend Mark Jason texted me a few days earlier to say he had just also seen it! I crossed my fingers for it =) I arrived in the subdivision around 6:30AM and drove around some streets with vacant lots.

Just a couple of houses along this road

I rolled the windows down and immediately heard the distinct calls of Tawny Grassbirds coming from the grassy lots. I stopped and tried to stop them but the first birds seen were a couple of Barred Rails on the road. There were two birds out in the open were actually calling! It was the first time I actually SAW Barred Rails making all that noise! Usually, it's either you see them OR you hear them. I was so happy to have been able to see and also get a short video of this behavior.

A passing motorcycle flushed the birds away and so I drove on. Upon reaching a dead end and got out to survey the area. A small flock of Scaly-breasted Munias perched on some tall grasses close to the car while lots of Yellow-vented Bulbuls flew in the area.

Scaly-breasted Munias

The Munias soon flew off and we decided to turn back and explore another area. As I was heading back, I saw a couple of Tawny Grassbirds preening atop some blades of grass. It was nice getting to observe all their field marks out in the open as they are notorious skulkers.

Tawny Grassbird

While watching the grassbirds, a tiny Bright-capped Cisticola suddenly started calling from a very high and exposed perch. Silhouetted against the brightening sky, all I could really see was the shadow of a small, round bird! It flew away, calling noisily as it did. I decided to move to another area and stopped when I heard an Elegant Tit! I didn't see it but I saw some Buzzing Flowerpeckers joining the morning chorus.

I moved to another area and stayed there the longest. The birds seemed to be all coming out to sing and have breakfast. The Black-naped Orioles came out to sun themselves and the Collared Kingfishers started becoming noisy. As I was observing some flowerpeckers above, something white and chicken-like started gliding from one tree to the next! Was it really one of my most-wanted birds??? It was!!! A white-morph Philippine Coucal! It was soon followed by a Philippine Coucal. How exciting!

But, just like any self-respecting coucal, they both just stayed out in the open for a few seconds, just enough for a good, brief view through the bins, before skulking into the leaves to hide.

I FINALLY see the white-morph coucal!!!
Well, this photo shows only its back and tail...

It was followed by this regular Philippine Coucal

The white-morph even glided over the street I was standing in and settled into a mango tree, yes, unseen. I was thrilled at the sighting and I was thankful I had my wish granted! To top off the experience, a Plain Bush-hen also crossed the same street! Another bird I wanted to see, was a pitta. I laughed at the thought and then it started to drizzle.

I got in the car and decided to start driving back down. The rain started to pour but as I neared the exit, it stopped and the sun came out. Birding potential! I decided to explore a much greener part of the area and as I passed a thick clump of vegetation I heard it: Hooded Pitta. Would you believe, I found myself staring at a bright blue Hooded Pitta in the middle of an opening! Wish granted!

Spot the jewel on the forest floor!

I slowly got out of the car but as I did the pitta flew above to perch on some electric wires, giving great views of its bright red bottom =)

Such bright, wonderful colors!

The pitta flew back to the trail but was flushed further into the vegetation when a tricycle passed by. The people in the neighborhood were starting to go about their business and so were the Grey-backed Tailorbirds! One was singing very close to us and I could see it hopping around the low branches. I waited until it perched out in the open and sang!

Grey-backed Tailorbird
Really happy with this pic!!!

It sang and sang and sang until another motorcycle drove past. Two tailorbirds actually just stayed in the area, singing very loudly until I left.

I was starting to spot an Elegant Tit that started singing above when a group of young boys came out to inspect what I was doing. Luckily, we were able to spot the black and yellow tit and showed it to the boys through the scope.

When the bird left, a little birdwatching crash course was due for these curious boys. It was nice to see them genuinely interested in what we were saying. Soon they were calling to point out a bird that was singing (it was the Tailorbird.)

Before we left, I gave the boys the new brochure that friends Adri and Trinket put together for the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines featuring the common birds one can find in the city. Happy with the morning spent birding and with wishes granted, I left the kids with reminders to "just watch and don't catch" the birds. As I drove off, I saw the kids sitting on the sidewalk, seriously studying the birds in the brochures I gave them. =)

I hope they won't ever forget their first birdwatching experience
 and also the "lessons" they got that day =)

Broiling in the Candaba Sun

We finally got to go birding in Candaba for this year's autumn migration! Jops and I spent last Sunday birding with friends along the concrete road, scanning the empty rice fields for waders. And waders we found!

Birders scanning the fields

Busy foraging in the mud and shallow water were lots of Wood Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plovers, Black-winged Stilts, and egrets. Our group of thirteen birders scanned the area in different ways: scopes, bins, cameras. It was a bit challenging trying to id the birds, I honestly did not "review" for the trip! Tsk tsk.

Black-winged Stilt

Great Egret

The fields were not planted with rice, scattering the waders far and wide, making it more difficult to spot those in the farther areas. We did get close up views of other grassland birds though which made the heat considerably more tolerable. We got to see Buff-banded Rails, White-breasted Waterhens, Common Moorhens, Long-tailed Shrikes, and even a snipe that casually walked in front of our group!

A Buff-banded Rail posed for quite some time before being
chased away by HUGE field rats!

There were some Common Moorhens in the water-filled paddies.
No Grebes though...

This snipe entertained our group for a long time! It foraged
on the paddy by the side of the road where we were all positioned.

We moved on further down the concrete road which was slowly getting filled up with palay being spread out to dry. Feasting on the grains were lots of Eurasian Tree Sparrows which were joined by more White-breasted Waterhens and also some Barred Rails. One came out from the reeds beside our van and allowed us to take some photos before a skink (!) drove it away.

Barred Rail

Joining the buffet on the road were Pied Bushchats and Striated Grassbirds. This got most of us birders out of the cars and into the scorching morning sun. Was it noon already?? Why was it so hot?! It was just around 9 in the morning!

Male Pied Bushchat
They got me frustrated first by flying away before I
could take a photo... until this one posed handsomely.

We pushed forward until the end of the newly cemented road but didn't find any more waders. The migratory ducks haven't arrived yet although we did get some fly-by Philippine Ducks and Wandering Whistling Ducks. We also got excited by a very shy Black Bittern as well as some Blue-tailed Bee-eaters.

We decided to go back to the first patch of rice fields and explore further inland where we saw some Common Greenshanks and Marsh Sandpipers busy probing the mud with their beaks. Some of us braved the intensifying heat. I tried spotting the waders but the heat was becoming too much to bear. I joined the other birders in the shade of a small tree. 

That's Jops and Jayce (aka Paddington Bear) attempting the muddy fields.

Spotting more birds under the hot, morning sun!

When we regrouped, we all decided to call it a day. After a few group photos, we piled into our convoy and headed back to Manila. There weren't that many waders that day but birding was still good in the company of birder friends. Oh, and we got to discover Adri's hidden talent for calling just like a particular grassland bird! ;)

Habagat Birding

In the Philippines, the southwest monsoon winds are called Habagat. Starting during the summer months of May and June, warm winds sweep through the Philippines, bringing with it hot, humid weather and heavy rainfall. When the southwest monsoon ends towards September to October, cool winds from wintering Japan, China, and Siberia now blow into the country and is known as Amihan, or northeast monsoon. This wind brings little to no rainfall with moderate-temperature (cool) winds.

Now it is August and the Habagat is in "full-swing." Manila has been tormented the past week with strong rains and gusty winds, forcing people to stay indoors. More specifically, it has forced birders to stay indoors.

Having been in birding reclusion for weeks, Jops and I took our chances on a not-so-stormy Sunday morning. We headed to the La Mesa Ecopark to bird for a few hours before a scheduled meeting with the park administration. We invited some new birder friends to join us as well.

It was still very rainy and the park very wet. Thankfully, the strong winds have stopped!

We arrived at the park and met up with newly-fledged young birders Charles and Tristan, together with their parents and siblings, at 6:30 in the morning. We were instantly greeted with rain. We stood under one of the tents by the entrance and waited for the rain to stop. It did but would pour again after just a couple of minutes. The weather would remain like this until 8:00am. But at 8, we were blessed with a pocket of good weather and even some sunshine =)

We went on the trail and tried to spot the birds in the area. Some of us were able to see glimpses of the Ashy Ground Thrush. An Emerald Dove was seen foraging in the muddy ground and Red-bellied and Hooded Pittas kept calling from the vegetation. Some of us saw a male Mangrove Blue Flycatcher perched out in the open before flying away into the trees. We heard Philippine Pygmy Woodpeckers, Colasisi, and Grey-backed Tailorbirds but did not see any. Further down the trail, we saw a lone raptor fly in a large circle above us.

Strong rain began to fall and we decided to leave the trail. As we walked back to the main park, the rain really fell hard, soaking us.

We didn't see many birds, but it was a still good birding morning
even though we got rained out.  

We said our goodbyes to our friends and proceeded to the administration building where we met up with Adri and Trinket for the meeting. We stayed and chatted with LMEP's Sir Jodick and Sir Randy, while the weather changed from dark to rainy to fair to sunny and back to rainy again. During a break in the rain, the sun shone for a few minutes and Sir Randy was able to spot two White-eared Brown Doves feeding on an aratiles tree just opposite the administration building. We managed to put them on the scope and observe them hungrily feeding on the unripe fruits and flowers.

White-eared Brown Dove on the aratiles tree.

When the birds flew off, we also said our goodbyes to Sir Jodick and Sir Randy. Jops, Adri, Trinket, and I decided to check out the spill way before heading home. The spill way looked a lot "wetter" than usual, given  the rainy weather, but there were still large grassy portions. Here we saw a lone Little Heron, patiently waiting for fish from a steady flow of water.

A huge flock of Lowland White-eyes flew noisily from one tree to the next, chasing away a Pied Fantail in their boisterous feeding frenzy. Trinket then spotted a Barred Rail taking a leisurely bath in a puddle in the middle of the spillway. It took its time dipping in the water and shaking itself dry, walking away but coming back to bathe again!

When the rail walked away, so did we birders. The grumble in our stomachs told us it was lunch time already and the darkening sky threatened rain. So, our Sunday morning birding did not yield so many birds due to the rainy weather. I guess for the following weeks, birding will be like this: Habagat birding or no birding at all.