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!

Finally, Back in Puerto Princesa!

A long, long time ago (in 2002) my family spent the summer vacation months in Puerto Princesa in Palawan. My dad was based there for work and the whole family was able to spend a lot of time in Puerto with him. We went to the beach, the Underground River, island hopping in Honda Bay, ate pizza in Casa Rosa in Roxas (my favorite!), went to the beach again, island hopping... but I never paid attention to the birds. I wasn't a birdwatcher then.

My poor attempt at snorkeling at Honda Bay with mom
and my siblings. Yeah, that's me holding the snorkel
like a weapon =P

With my siblings at a very uncrowded Sabang to go see the
Underground River (and not the Pheasant!!!)

So, ever since I got into birding, going back to Puerto Princesa for the birds has always been on my mind. It took me more than 5 years (and a lot of excuses) before I was able to make that trip a reality. But it finally happened (thanks to Rommel Cruz and Will Cabanillas of WILD Expeditions Palawan and Birdwatch Palawan!!!) and it was awesome!

I was picked up at the airport by Will C. and Kuya Joel and we drove straight to the Irawan Ecopark which is a short drive from the airport.

Easy birding in Irawan

Birds were singing when we got out of the car. I think hearing new and unfamiliar birdsong is one of the best parts about birding in a new place. That and the lifers, of course. =)

The sunbirds were actively feeding on the trees surrounding us and three Hill Mynas made a brief appearance as well. Of course, the White-vented Shamas  were calling everywhere and a couple of Black-naped Monarchs chased each other among the trees.

White-vented Shama

Soon, Blue Paradise Flycatchers joined in on the fun and kept us company for the whole morning! It was like everywhere we looked, they were there!

Blue Paradise Flycatcher

The forest came alive with more birds and I was happy to tick of Asian Brown Flycatcher and Ashy-headed Babbler that morning. Other birds that came out included Hair-crested Drongo, Palawan Flowerpecker, Palawan Bulbul, and Ashy-fronted Bulbul. 

Hair-crested Drongo

Palawan Flowerpecker with breakfast ;)

We took a short break by midmorning and saw 4 Palawan Hornbills fly overhead before we birded in the short trail again. The Blue Paradise Flycatchers still accompanied us along the trail as well as the Black-naped Monarchs. Some Blue-naped Parrots flew in to perch on a tall tree and Slender-billed Crows also made brief appearances.

Blue-naped Parrot

Of course, other inhabitants of the forest were duly noticed, particularly a couple of gorgeous Emerald Tree Skinks (Thank you, Emerson, for the ID!)

Emerald Tree Skink
Lamprolepis smaragdina

There were also quite a lot of these smaller Eutropis skinks scurrying around the forest floor. They are much smaller than the Emerald Tree Skinks but look a bit mean-ner because of the bright red coloring on their mouths!

Most probably Eutropis indeprensa
(Brown's Mabuya, if I'm not mistaken)

We moved further inside the park to try our luck with the Palawan Flycatcher. As we were walking along the trail, I saw a bird scurrying on the ground. For whatever reason, we decided to stalk it. I saw a flash of blue when I first saw the bird and my heart was beating so fast at the possibility of it being the rare Siberian Blue Robin that was spotted there recently. Our stalking paid off because the bird was indeed the rare Siberian Blue Robin! 

At first, my heart sank when the bird I was looking at turned out to be not blue, but brown! But when I saw all the field marks, particularly the distinct blue on the wings and rump and observed its behavior, we confirmed it was an immature male! My heart stopped palpitating after that. Rommel confirmed it later that evening too =)

Here's a super short (and shaky!) video of the robin. It was continuously walking around, bobbing its tail all the time! 

After some time observing the Siberian Blue, we watched it walk to a steeper part of the trail and out of sight. The Palawan Flycatcher seemed to think I would be too lucky if it showed up too, so it didn't. But I did get awesome views of Pin-striped Tit Babblers and a pair of Spot-throated Flamebacks! A Hooded Pitta also foraged in the same area where the robin was.

Female Spot-throated Flameback 

After a while, the male showed up to join the female.

Mr. and Mrs. Flameback

We transferred to another part of the park and took a short walk to the river which was quite dried up. It reminded me of the river in Pasonanca in Zamboanga =)

Dry river bed

At first, the surrounding area was very quiet. And then the birds came out seemingly all at once! I was able to see Black-headed Bulbuls, a Grey Wagtail, and a Common Kingfisher in quick succession. I also ticked off an unexpected lifer in the area: Plaintive Cuckoo.

Plaintive Cuckoo

As we headed back to the car, we flushed away a Rufous-backed Kingfisher which was perched near the road! We left the ecopark for a late lunch but not before a short stop to tick off a handsome Copper-throated Sunbird among a patch of mangroves! We returned to the ecopark after lunch and the forest was very quiet. We saw some birds, including some Thick-billed Green Pigeons but not much compared to the morning.

We went to Ellei's Place in the city where I would be staying and met the owner Ms. Den Wakefield, who is also a birder. Rommel dropped by and showed me another mega lifer to end my first day birding in Puerto Princesa: Palawan Frogmouth.

"Turn around...

... bright eyes"
(with a short cameo from a Musang or civet cat)

Will, me, and Rommel in Ellei's Place

Next stop: Sabang!

El Nido Adventure: Exploring the Trails and Impromptu Owling

Jops and I had the great opportunity to go El Nido in Palawan with Anna G. for an ocular and bird survey for a beach-front resort that is being developed. It was Jops and my first time to go birding in El Nido and we were more than excited to go.

We arrived at the beautifully decorated pre-departure area of ITI (Island Transvoyager Inc.) and were welcomed with a simple breakfast buffet. I loved ALL the details including the wooden boarding passes and the pre-assigned seating area in the pre-dep area! I’m a sucker for labels =P

The cozy pre-departure area of ITI.

My boarding pass (that the stewardess collects
after everyone is seated)

We were shuttled to our plane and were soon on our way to El Nido! In an hour, we landed in the Lio airport and were welcomed with a folk song just at the entrance to the “main airport” – which was basically two bahay kubos: one was the arrival area and the other the pre-departure area. We were once again served food and drinks while waiting for our pick-up vehicles to arrive. The guests staying in the island resorts were shuttled by jeepney to a nearby jetty to their boats while we were picked up by a van to take us to our resort: El Nido Cove.

  

Our plane

The welcoming committee at the airport

The snack table for arrivals

Anna, Jops, and I were picked up by Sir Mesach from El Nido Cove and were also joined by Sheryl of Ten Knots Development Corp. We arrived shortly in El Nido Cove and I was immediately drawn by the beach front of the hotel. We walked to a small deck with a tree adorned with capiz lanterns and took in the refreshing view.

El Nido Cove faces El Nido Bay and Cadlao Island

Just standing on the deck, we saw Asian Glossy Starlings, Collared Kingfishers, and a small squadron of Brown-backed Needletails. After checking into our rooms and another breakfast, we gave in to the many bird calls coming from the trees in front of the hotel lobby. We were joined by Sir Alex and Marko of El Nido Cove as well. We immediately saw a mixed flock of birds including my first lifer: the bright yellow Common Iora.

Other birds in the mixed flock were a number of sunbird species: Olive-backed Sunbird (aurora race), Brown-throated Sunbird(split from Plain-throated Sunbird,) and Copper-throated Sunbird. A lot of Ashy-fronted Bulbuls also joined in the frenzy and we even spotted a couple of them building a nest!

Ashy-fronted Bulbul

After a few minutes, we had to pull ourselves away from the birds because it was time to leave for the Dalimatan trail. Day 1 was dedicated to exploring the trails. We were also joined by Sir Alex of El Nido Cove. A short drive from the resort, we entered the trail from the main road and immediately saw a pond with some Philippine Ducks as well as a single Dollarbird that was perched atop a leafless tree, bathing in the hot morning sun.

Spotting the Dollarbird at the entrance of the trail

We pushed inward the trail and immediately heard some Hooded Pittas calling from both sides of the trail. There was quite a number of them although we only saw one (thanks to the super sharp eyes of one of our companions in the trail!) Walking through the trail we saw a number of Hair-crested Drongos and a couple of Crested Serpent Eagles thermalled overhead.

We reached a small clearing and a small flock of pigeons fly in and land on a fruiting ficus tree. Upon closer inspection, we saw that they were Thick-billed Green Pigeons, hungrily eating the ripe red berries on the tree. It was an unexpected lifer for me!

Another lifer made its appearance in a flash of red and gold: a Spot-throated Flameback! The gorgeous woodpecker stayed quite long, flying from one coconut tree to the next, calling loudly from its perch. Another awesome lifer and it wasn't even noon time yet!

Eventually, the woodpecker flew and perched on a far coconut tree. We moved along the trail and soon approached a boardwalk. The surrounding landscape was quite dry and quiet in this area so we just walked quietly to the end. Maybe in the rainy season, more birds will stay in that area.

Birding on the boardwalk

The trail opened up and we found ourselves perpendicular to the Lio airport runway! We walked the grassy trail alongside the airport and got glimpses of a Rufous-tailed Tailorbird crossing the path. When we re-entered the wooded area, a handsome male Black-chinned Fruit Dove appeared beside us, looked curiously at our group, then flew to the other side of the trail. This has been my best views of this bird so far =)

Black-chinned Fruit Dove

We soon exited the trail and found Sir Mesach waiting with the van. It was already past noon and we were hungry! We headed to town for a scrumptious lunch and I was reunited with the delicious rostii I had in the same restaurant when I was in El Nido way back in 2007.

Our day wasn't over yet and we spent the afternoon exploring a patch of mangroves on a make-shift raft (powered by kayak!) The area looked like it had a lot of potential but since it was kind of late in the afternoon already, all we saw were some bulbuls and a Rufous Night Heron. We did hear a loud call coming from the mangroves and with the help of Kuya Mesach and Kuya Alex, we were able to ID it as a Greater Coucal! The local staff were very helpful and are quite knowledgeable of the different birds in the area. They are very familiar with most bird calls and can identify them usually with their local names. We left the area, but not before we spotted a flock of Germain's Swiftlets (Edible-nest Swiftlet) flying just above us.

Exploring the mangroves on the make-shift raft

"Power steering" from the kuyas on the kayak

We returned to El Nido Cove for dinner and initially planned to go to Sir Alex's house to check out a possible Spotted Wood Owl he has been hearing. Unfortunately, we were too tired to leave after dinner so we cancelled that owling trip. BUT...!!! Little did we know it would be a lucky night for us!

As we were all preparing for bed, Jops heard a Spotted Wood Owl calling... from just behind our hotel room!!! 

Jops raced to call Anna, followed by a guard who was alarmed at the urgency at which Jops was running. We, together with the guard, walked to the beach, where another Spotted Wood Owl was calling very loudly! The guard reported seeing the owl just the previous night and after a few minutes, a pair of Spotted Wood Owls showed themselves. They were very sensitive to any kind of movement, flying to another tree, even if they were perched far away. The best views we got were of the owls soaring right above us as they transferred from one perch to the next. We didn't get any photos, but it was such a thrilling (and not to mention unexpected) owling adventure!

We said our good nights once more, ecstatic at having seen the owls right there in the resort we were staying in! How cool was that!? So, we ended our first day in El Nido with the owls and we all went to sleep that night with owl-induced smiles on our faces. 

(To be continued...)

Pledge 2 Fledge 2014: From The Nest to The Table

This year, the WBCP was able to conduct two guided birdwatching trips for the Pledge 2 Fledge weekend! Pledge 2 Fledge is the flagship project of Global Birding Initiative. The goal is to share and promote the joy of birdwatching to more people by taking them out birding. 

The first trip Jops and I conducted with Anna G. was in the beautiful town of  El Nido, Palawan. We were there for a bird survey and decided to fledge some new birders among some of the El Nido Resorts personnel! Birding there was awesome! We birded in three sites: El Nido Cove, Dalimatan trail, and in Lagen Island. More details on these adventures (and my 12 lifers!!) in my next post.

Sir Mesach and Sir Alex birding in El Nido Cove
I got 4 lifers here and we recorded a total 24 species!

Anna (wearing a hat) giving the introductory talk about birding
before going in the Dalimatan trail

Our group birding in the Dalimatan trail.
Hair-crested Drongos gave us good views here!

Happy birders even though it wasn't such a birdy morning that day
in the Dalimatan trail

Another group shot as we reached the end of our birding morning 

It was a lot of fun birding with the group from El Nido. Most of them were already aware and knowledgeable of the birds in their areas and it was nice exchanging stories and information with them. I also enjoyed showing new birds to them and seeing the joy of new discovery. While we were walking towards the end of the Dalimatan trail, a bright Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher darter across the path just in front of us, showing its orangey-pink color. Sir Mesach, just seeing a glimpse of the bird, has now made it a personal quest to see it again soon, with better views of course =)

One evening during our stay in El Nido Cove, we heard some Spotted Wood Owls calling loudly from the trees just beside our rooms! We went out and were joined by some of the hotel staff. The girls shared that when they hear that sound, they would run away from the scary sound. We showed them the drawing of the owl in our field guides and they were surprised that a bird was making the loud sounds at night! I asked them if they would run away from the sound next time they hear it, and they said with a smile that they wouldn't and that they are no longer afraid =)

We flew back to Manila on Saturday and scheduled another guided trip for the Pledge 2 Fledge weekend in the La Mesa Ecopark in Quezon City. We had 14 participants and were able to see 24 species that morning in the park.

We began birding in the spillway and immediately saw some Barred Rails

We also birding in the trails and the Ashy Thrushes did not disappoint
as well as the Mangrove Blue Flycathers

Another group shot of happy birders!

It was an activity-filled weekend for Anna, Jops, and I but we got a lot of help from our friends who volunteered for the activity. From The Nest (El Nido) to The Table (La Mesa), we hope we were able to do our part in sharing the wonderful world of birdwatching to more people =)